Iris delavayi is a species in the genus Iris, also the subgenus of Limniris and in the Iris series Sibiricae. It is a rhizomatousherbaceousperennial, from various provinces in China. It has grey-green leaves, long hollow stem, and 2 flowers in various blue shades. From dark violet, dark purple, purple-blue, dark blue to light purple. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

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Iris delavayi is larger and more vigorous in growth than Iris sibirica.[2]

It has stout, creeping rhizomes (about 1 cm in diameter), that create clumps or tufts of plants.[3][4][5][6][7][8] It eventually forms clumps that are about 45–60 cm (18–24 in) wide.[9] The rhizomes have fibers (the remains of leaves from last season).[3]

It has 3-4 (per stem) grey-green leaves, that are sword-shaped or linear (in form), measuring 50–90 cm (20–35 in) long and 0.6-1.5 cm wide.[3][4][5][7][8][10] The leaves are shorter than the flowering stems.[7][8][10]

It has a hollow, 1-3 branched flowering stem that grows up to between 60–150 cm (24–59 in) long and 5-7mm wide.[3][4][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The short branches are close to the tops of the stems.[3][8]

The stem has 2-3 green, with a slight reddish purple tinge, lanceolate (sword-like), spathes (leaves of the flower bud), which measure 7–11 cm long and 1.8–2 cm wide.[3] They also have a papery brown tip.[8][10] The spathes surround 2 flowers (per stem branch), borne in early summer,[3][5][10][15] between May and August (or June or July in the UK).[2][7]

Like other Irises, it has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large sepals (outer petals), known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals (or tepals), known as the 'standards'.[16] The drooping falls are obovate, measuring 7 cm long and 3 cm wide, with white or yellow signal patch or mottled pattern on the blade (wide section).[3][4][5][7][10][11][12][13][14][15] The smaller standards are held at an oblique angle, measuring 5.5 cm long and oblanceolate (in from).[2][3][7][8][10]

It has perianth tube of 1.6-1.8 cm long, a pedical (flower stalk stem) of between 3–6 cm long and pale purple style branches, measuring 5 cm long and 1.6 cm wide.[3]

It has a 3–6 cm long pedicel, 1.8–2 cm long and 7mm wide, ovary and milky yellow anthers.[3]

Between August and October (after the iris has flowered), it produces a seed capsule, which are ellipsoid/cylindric in form and measures 5-6.5 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide.[3] Inside are semi-orbicular, flat, (disc like) reddish brown seeds, with are about 6mm in diameter.[3]

In 2011, the iris has been studied to work out its iridal properities from specimens collected in the north-western Yunnan Province of China, eight iridal-type triterpenoids were isolated, three of which were new. Both 2(7)Z- and 2(7)E-iridals were isolated in about equal amounts from the sample collected at Laojunshan, while only 2(7)Z-iridals were isolated from samples collected in Shangrila area, indicating the presence of chemical diversity in the species.[17]

As most irises are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes. This can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings.[16] It has a chromosome count of 2n=40.[3][12][13][16][18] discovered by Simonet in 1932.[11] This places it within the sub-group of the series, called the Sino-siberians.[16]

It was originally found in the marshes in the Yunnan province of China.[17] Seeds of the iris were then sent by Abbé Delavay to the Jardin des Plantes, Paris in 1889. Plants were then raised by Micheli,[11] who then first published and described the iris in Revue Horticole (résumé de tout ce qui parait d'intéressant en jardinage, of Paris) Vol. 67, page 938, in 1895.[19][24] It was also published in 'Jardin du Crest' page189.[6] On 1 June 1899, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker wrote about the iris in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Tab. 7661, accompanied with a colour illustration. Based on flowers raised from seed given to Kew Gardens by Micheli, noting the fact the iris was similar in form to Iris laevigata Fisch & Mey.[11]

The authors of the 'Flora of China' have speculated that the early found specimens of Iris laevigata Fisch. Found in the high elevations of Yunnan should be referred to Iris delavayi.[25]

It can be found growing in swampy places,[2] mountain marshes,[6] forest margins,[3] damp places along ditches and streams,[3][8][15] and wet mountain meadows.[3][5][7][8] At altitudes of between 2,400 to 4,500 m (7,900 to 14,800 ft) above sea level.[3][7][8]

The Sino-siberian irises all generally have similar cultivation requirements with minor alterations.

They are not as hardy as the other group of Siberian irises.[16] They also don't like very hot conditions either. Preferring the northern parts of America and United States to the over warm southern America.[16] They are considered easy to cultivate (providing the conditions are good) in America.[6]

Iris delavayi will tolerate temperatures of up to – 15 degrees C.[7] But may survive lower if protected or well mulched in winter.[16] It is hardy to USDA Zone 5-8,[5][9] and Zone H2 (which means Hardy to -15 to-20oC (5 to -4oF [26]), in Europe.[10]

They do not like free-draining soils (or sandy soils),[16] unless plenty of well-rotted organic matter is added before planting and applied as a mulch each spring.[4] They are also tolerant of windy conditions.[27]

They prefer positions in full sun,[9] but may tolerate partial shade.[5] They produce less flowers in shaded positions.[27]

They can be mulched with peat or garden compost in spring.[27][28] They can also be fed in spring with a general fertiliser but it is not essential.[16]

They can be divided after flowering (in early summer) or autumn (in the UK[4]) if the clumps become too big and congested.[5][28] Also propagation is best carried out by division of the rhizomes.[4][27]

They then should be replanted 25 cm (9.8 in)s) apart and 10 cm (3.9 in) deep,[27][28] into weed free conditions. New plants can be planted in spring or autumn.[16][27] But the ground needs to be prepared before planting. New plants need to be well watered during the first season.[27] New plants also take at least 2 years to become established.[16]

They can also be propagated by seed. Once the pods are dry on the plant, break them open to collect seeds. Then direct sow outdoors in fall (or Autumn), or winter sow in vented containers, in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse.[9]

They can be used within in gardens, at waterside locations beside pools or streams.[4][5][18] It can also be used within a bog garden and flowers after Iris sibirica, so extending the flowering season of the garden.[2]

Iris delavayi can be crossed with Iris wilsonii which gives its yellow base colour (veined with bluish purple[10]) to the flowers and it can also cross with other members of the sibirica subsection.[2]

Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction.[9]

1.
Taxonomy (biology)
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Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy, the broadest meaning of taxonomy is used here. The word taxonomy was introduced in 1813 by Candolle, in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, the term alpha taxonomy is primarily used today to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species. In earlier literature, the term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a value of acting as permanent stimulants. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a beta taxonomy, turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy, thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined beta taxonomy as the classification of ranks higher than species. This activity is what the term denotes, it is also referred to as beta taxonomy. How species should be defined in a group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as the species problem. The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy, by extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at higher taxonomic ranks, from subgenus and above only, than species. While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, earlier works were primarily descriptive, and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on criteria, the so-called artificial systems. Later came systems based on a complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as natural systems, such as those of de Jussieu, de Candolle and Bentham. The publication of Charles Darwins Origin of Species led to new ways of thinking about classification based on evolutionary relationships and this was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler and Engler, the advent of molecular genetics and statistical methodology allowed the creation of the modern era of phylogenetic systems based on cladistics, rather than morphology alone. Taxonomy has been called the worlds oldest profession, and naming and classifying our surroundings has likely been taking place as long as mankind has been able to communicate

2.
Plant
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Plants are mainly multicellular, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. The term is generally limited to the green plants, which form an unranked clade Viridiplantae. This includes the plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae. Green plants have cell walls containing cellulose and obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts and their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic and have lost the ability to produce amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize. Plants are characterized by sexual reproduction and alternation of generations, although reproduction is also common. There are about 300–315 thousand species of plants, of which the great majority, green plants provide most of the worlds molecular oxygen and are the basis of most of Earths ecologies, especially on land. Plants that produce grains, fruits and vegetables form humankinds basic foodstuffs, Plants play many roles in culture. They are used as ornaments and, until recently and in variety, they have served as the source of most medicines. The scientific study of plants is known as botany, a branch of biology, Plants are one of the two groups into which all living things were traditionally divided, the other is animals. The division goes back at least as far as Aristotle, who distinguished between plants, which generally do not move, and animals, which often are mobile to catch their food. Much later, when Linnaeus created the basis of the system of scientific classification. Since then, it has become clear that the plant kingdom as originally defined included several unrelated groups, however, these organisms are still often considered plants, particularly in popular contexts. When the name Plantae or plant is applied to a group of organisms or taxon. The evolutionary history of plants is not yet settled. Those which have been called plants are in bold, the way in which the groups of green algae are combined and named varies considerably between authors. Algae comprise several different groups of organisms which produce energy through photosynthesis, most conspicuous among the algae are the seaweeds, multicellular algae that may roughly resemble land plants, but are classified among the brown, red and green algae. Each of these groups also includes various microscopic and single-celled organisms

3.
Angiosperms
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The flowering plants, also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants, with 416 families, approx. 13,164 known genera and a total of c.295,383 known species, etymologically, angiosperm means a plant that produces seeds within an enclosure, in other words, a fruiting plant. The term angiosperm comes from the Greek composite word meaning enclosed seeds, the ancestors of flowering plants diverged from gymnosperms in the Triassic Period, during the range 245 to 202 million years ago, and the first flowering plants are known from 160 mya. They diversified extensively during the Lower Cretaceous, became widespread by 120 mya, angiosperms differ from other seed plants in several ways, described in the table. These distinguishing characteristics taken together have made the angiosperms the most diverse and numerous land plants, the amount and complexity of tissue-formation in flowering plants exceeds that of gymnosperms. The vascular bundles of the stem are arranged such that the xylem and phloem form concentric rings, in the dicotyledons, the bundles in the very young stem are arranged in an open ring, separating a central pith from an outer cortex. In each bundle, separating the xylem and phloem, is a layer of meristem or active formative tissue known as cambium, the soft phloem becomes crushed, but the hard wood persists and forms the bulk of the stem and branches of the woody perennial. Among the monocotyledons, the bundles are more numerous in the stem and are scattered through the ground tissue. They contain no cambium and once formed the stem increases in diameter only in exceptional cases, the characteristic feature of angiosperms is the flower. Flowers show remarkable variation in form and elaboration, and provide the most trustworthy external characteristics for establishing relationships among angiosperm species, the function of the flower is to ensure fertilization of the ovule and development of fruit containing seeds. The floral apparatus may arise terminally on a shoot or from the axil of a leaf, occasionally, as in violets, a flower arises singly in the axil of an ordinary foliage-leaf. There are two kinds of cells produced by flowers. Microspores, which divide to become pollen grains, are the male cells and are borne in the stamens. The female cells called megaspores, which divide to become the egg cell, are contained in the ovule. The flower may consist only of parts, as in willow. Usually, other structures are present and serve to protect the sporophylls, the individual members of these surrounding structures are known as sepals and petals. The outer series is usually green and leaf-like, and functions to protect the rest of the flower, the inner series is, in general, white or brightly colored, and is more delicate in structure. It functions to attract insect or bird pollinators, attraction is effected by color, scent, and nectar, which may be secreted in some part of the flower

4.
Monocots
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Monocotyledons, commonly referred to as monocots, are flowering plants whose seeds typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. However, molecular research has shown that while the monocots form a monophyletic group or clade. Monocots have almost always recognized as a group, but with various taxonomic ranks. The APG III system of 2009 recognises a clade called monocots, the monocots include about 60,000 species. The largest family in this group by number of species are the orchids, about half as many species belong to the true grasses, which are economically the most important family of monocots. In agriculture the majority of the biomass produced comes from monocots and these include not only major grains, but also forage grasses, sugar cane, and the bamboos. Other economically important monocot crops include various palms, bananas, gingers and their relatives, turmeric and cardamom, asparagus and the onions and garlic family. Additionally most of the bulbs, plants cultivated for their blooms, such as lilies, daffodils, irises, amaryllis, cannas, bluebells. The monocots or monocotyledons have, as the name implies, a single cotyledon, or embryonic leaf, from a diagnostic point of view the number of cotyledons is neither a particularly useful characteristic, nor is it completely reliable. Nevertheless, monocots are sufficiently distinctive that there has rarely been disagreement as to membership of this group, however, morphological features that reliably characterise major clades are rare. Thus monocots are distinguishable from other angiosperms both in terms of their uniformity and diversity, although largely herbaceous, some arboraceous monocots reach great height, length and mass. The latter include agaves, palms, pandans, and bamboos and this creates challenges in water transport that monocots deal with in various ways. Some such as species of Yucca develop anomalous secondary growth, while palm trees, the axis undergoes primary thickening, that progresses from internode to internode, resulting in a typical inverted conical shape of the basal primary axis. The limited conductivity also contributes to limited branching of the stems, despite these limitations a wide variety of adaptive growth forms has resulted from epiphytic orchids and bromeliads to submarine Alismatales and mycotrophic Burmanniaceae and Triuridaceae. Other monocots, particularly Poales have adopted a life form. Leaves The cotyledon, the primordial Angiosperm leaf consists of a proximal leaf base or hypophyll, in moncots the hypophyll tends to be the dominant part in contrast to other angiosperms. Mature monocot leaves are narrow and linear, forming a sheathing around the stem at its base. There is usually only one leaf per node because the leaf base encompasses more than half the circumference, the evolution of this monocot characteristic has been attributed to developmental differences in early zonal differentiation rather than meristem activity

5.
Asparagales
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Asparagales is an order of plants in modern classification systems such as the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Web. The order takes its name from the type family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots amongst the lilioid monocots, the order has only recently been recognized in classification systems. It was first put forward by Huber in 1977 and later taken up in the Dahlgren system of 1985 and then the APG in 1998,2003 and 2009. Before this, many of its families were assigned to the old order Liliales, DNA sequence analysis indicated that many of the taxa previously included in Liliales should actually be redistributed over three orders, Liliales, Asparagales and Dioscoreales. The boundaries of the Asparagales and of its families have undergone a series of changes in recent years, future research may lead to further changes and ultimately greater stability. In the APG circumscription, Asparagales is the largest order of monocots with 14 families,1,122 genera, the order is clearly circumscribed on the basis of molecular phylogenetics, but is difficult to define morphologically, since its members are structurally diverse. Most species of Asparagales are herbaceous perennials, although some are climbers, the order also contains many geophytes. According to telomere sequence, at least two evolutionary switch-points happened within the order, basal sequence is formed by TTTAGGG like in majority of higher plants. Basal motif was changed to vertebrate-like TTAGGG and finally the most divergent motif CTCGGTTATGGG appears in Allium, one of the defining characteristics of the order is the presence of phytomelanin, a black pigment present in the seed coat, creating a dark crust. Phytomelanin is found in most families of the Asparagales, the leaves of almost all species form a tight rosette, either at the base of the plant or at the end of the stem, but occasionally along the stem. The flowers are not particularly distinctive, being lily type, with six tepals, from an economic point of view, the order Asparagales is second in importance within the monocots to the order Poales. Species are used as food and flavourings, as cut flowers, and as garden ornamentals. Thus although most species in the order are herbaceous, some no more than 15 cm high, there are a number of climbers, as well as several genera forming trees, succulent genera occur in several families. Almost all species have a cluster of leaves, either at the base of the plant or at the end of a more-or-less woody stem as with Yucca. In some cases the leaves are produced along the stem, the flowers are in the main not particularly distinctive, being of a general lily type, with six tepals, either free or fused from the base and up to six stamina. They are frequently clustered at the end of the plant stem and they are generally geophytes, but with linear leaves, and a lack of fine reticular venation. The seeds characteristically have the external epidermis either obliterated, or if present, have a layer of black carbonaceous phytomelanin in species with dry fruits. The inner part of the coat is generally collapsed, in contrast to Liliales whose seeds have a well developed outer epidermis, lack phytomelanin

6.
Iridaceae
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Iridaceae is a family of plants in Order Asparagales, taking its name from the Irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c.2244 species worldwide and it includes a number of other well known cultivated plants, such as the Freesia, the Gladiolus and the Crocus. Members of this family are perennial plants, with a bulb, the plants grow erect, and have leaves that are generally grass-like, with a sharp central fold. Some examples of members of family are the Blue Flag. The family name is based on the genus Iris, the largest and best known genus in Europe, the genus Iris dates from 1753, when it was coined by Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus. Its name derives from the Greek goddess, Iris, who carried messages from Olympus to earth along a rainbow and they are mainly from Africa, but includes members from Europe and Asia. The rootstock is usually a corm, they have blooms which sometimes have scent are collected in inflorescence, the nectar is produced mostly in the base of the bloom from the glands of the ovary, which is where the flower forms a tube-like end. In some species there is no end and the plant only provides pollen to pollinating insects. Like the whole Iridaceae family, the members of the subfamily have the typical sword-shaped leaves, subfamily Isophysidoideae contains the single genus Isophysis, from Tasmania. It is the member of the family with a superior ovary and has a star-like yellow to brownish flower. Subfamily Nivenioideae contains six genera from South Africa, Australia and Madagascar, aristea is also a member of this subfamily. It is distinguished by having flowers in small, paired clusters among large bracts, the flowers are always radially symmetrical, with separate tepals and the rootstock is a rhizome. Subfamily Iridoideae is distributed throughout the range of the family and contains the large genera Iris and it is the only subfamily that is represented in South America. The species have flowers in clusters among large bracts, styles that are often petal-like or crested. Most species have separate petals and the rootstock is usually a rhizome or rarely a bulb, the flowers are almost always radially symmetrical. Bobartia, Dietes and Ferraria belong to this subfamily, members of Iridaceae occur in a great variety of habitats. About the only place they do not grow is in the sea itself, most species are adapted to seasonal climates that have a pronounced dry or cold period unfavourable for plant growth and during which the plants dormant. As a result, most species are deciduous, evergreen species are restricted to subtropical forests or savannah, temperate grasslands and perennially moist fynbos

7.
Iridoideae
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Iridoideae subfamily is one of the two main subfamilies in the popular Iridaceae family. It contains the best-known genus - Iris, the members of this subfamily are widely distributed worldwide. They grow in all continents except Antarctica and they produce typical sword-shaped leaves and have mainly corms or rhizomes. There are some exceptions which have bulbs and these are two subgenera of Iris - Xiphium and Hermodactyloides. The blooms, which are often scented, are arranged in terminal inflorescences. In most cases three of them are separated from the others and are specialized in different functions, however some are not, as in Nemastylis. Nectar is produced in their base, in some of the species the stamens are partially fused with the petals. The 3-locular seed capsule contains the seeds which are often circular, the species in the subfamily are often used as ornamental plants such as Iris and Tigridia. There are also species members which are at risk in their environment such as some subspecies of Ferraria crispa. Media related to Iridoideae at Wikimedia Commons

8.
Irideae
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Irideae is a tribe included in the well-known Iridaceae family. It contains many species in five genera which are distributed in the Old World. The tribe derives its name from Iris, which is the genus of the tribe. The blooms, which are often with scent and collected in an inflorescence, have six petals and those are identical only in the genus Ferraria. The ovary is 3-locular and contains seeds which are usually circular, the members has the typical sword-shaped leaves and the rootstock is usually rhizome or corm. Only two subgenera of Iris have bulbs, many of the species are popular ornamental plants, but many are threatened with extinction. List of genera, Dietes Ferraria Hermodactylus Iris Moraea

9.
Iris (plant)
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Iris is a genus of about 260–300, species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, some authors state that the name refers to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species. A common name for some species is flags, while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as junos and it is a popular garden flower. The often-segregated, monotypic genera Belamcanda, Hermodactylus, and Pardanthopsis are currently included in Iris, Iris is the national flower of Croatia. Irises are perennial plants, growing from creeping rhizomes or, in drier climates and they have long, erect flowering stems which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section. The rhizomatous species usually have 3–10 basal sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps, the bulbous species have cylindrical, basal leaves. The inflorescences are in the shape of a fan and contain one or more symmetrical six-lobed flowers and these grow on a pedicel or peduncle. The three sepals, which are usually spreading or droop downwards, are referred to as falls and they expand from their narrow base, into a broader expanded portion and can be adorned with veining, lines or dots. In the centre of the blade, some of the rhizomatous irises have a beard, the three, sometimes reduced, petals stand upright, partly behind the sepal bases. Some smaller iris species have all six lobes pointing straight outwards and they are united at their base into a floral tube that lies above the ovary. The styles divide towards the apex into petaloid branches, this is significant in pollination, the iris flower is of interest as an example of the relation between flowering plants and pollinating insects. The iris fruit is a capsule which opens up in three parts to reveal the seeds within. In some species, the bear a aril. Iris is the largest genus of the family Iridaceae with up to 300 species – many of natural hybrids. Modern classifications, starting with Dykes, have subdivided them, Dykes referred to the major subgroupings as sections. Subsequent authors such as Lawrence and Rodionenko have generally called them subgenera, while essentially retaining Dykes groupings, of these, section Limneris was further divided into sixteen series. Rodionenko also reduced the number of sections in subgenus Iris, from six to two, depending on the presence or absence of arils on the seeds, referred to as arilate or nonarilate, taylor provides arguments for not including all arilate species in Hexapogon

10.
Iris subg. Limniris
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Subgenus Limniris is one subgenus of beardless irises, which dont have hair on their drooping sepals, also called their falls. Limniris is derived from the Latin for marsh or living-in-lakes Iris and this refers to the fact that most species can be grown in moist habitats for part of the year. It was originally described by Tausch in Deut, Édouard Spach made changes 1846 in Ann. It was divided into sections, Limniris, which is divided down to about 16 series. It has 45 species, which are distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a group that has been recognized with few changes since Dykess 1913 monograph on the genus Iris, lawrence, Rodionenko and then Mathew all tried to modify the group. Various authors have tried to classify the list in various ways and it is still undergoing study and variations. Otherwise known as Evansias or crested iris

11.
Iris series Sibiricae
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Sibiricae are a series of the genus Iris, in Iris subg. The series was first classified by Diels in Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien in 1930 and it was further expanded by Lawrence in Gentes Herb in 1953. Iris sibirica and Iris sanguinea were first recorded and described in the 18th century and they were used in herbal remedies, to cure ulcers, remove freckles and cure other ladies problems. In the 19th century, they were used as garden plants. In the 1920s and 1930s, American breeders also started creating new hybrids, most species are easy to grow in temperate zones. They prefer semi-shaded positions, that contain moisture during the summer and they also need soils with a pH level of more than 7. In the 1970s, the Society for Siberian Irises in North America did some research into the series. One with 40 chromosomes and the other only have 28 chromosomes and it was published by L. W. Lenz in Aliso in 1976. The society then decided to divide the group by this division, the 28 chromosomal group is sometimes known as the Sino-Siberians. The Sino-siberians include, Iris bulleyana, Iris chrysographes, Iris clarkei, Iris delavayi, Iris forrestii, the 40 chromosomal group contains Iris sanguinea, Iris siberica and Iris typhifolia. The Morgan-Wood Medal is given out by the American Iris Society and it honours the work of F. Cleveland Morgan and Ira E. Wood. It is given to siberian irises judged to be the best of the best, includes, Iris bulleyana Dykes Iris chrysographes – black iris Iris clarkei Baker Iris delavayi Micheli Iris forrestii Dykes Iris sanguinea Hornem. Ex Donn – blood iris, ayame Iris siberica – Siberian iris Iris typhifolia Kitag, Iris wilsonii C. H. Wright Media related to Iris ser. Sibiricae at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Iris ser

12.
Binomial nomenclature
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Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name, more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs, for example, humans belong to the genus Homo and within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. The formal introduction of system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus. But Gaspard Bauhin, in as early as 1623, had introduced in his book Pinax theatri botanici many names of genera that were adopted by Linnaeus. Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are common to these two codes, there are differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules. Similarly, both parts are italicized when a binomial name occurs in normal text, thus the binomial name of the annual phlox is now written as Phlox drummondii. In scientific works, the authority for a name is usually given, at least when it is first mentioned. In zoology Patella vulgata Linnaeus,1758, the original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica, the parentheses indicate that the species is now considered to belong in a different genus. The ICZN does not require that the name of the person who changed the genus be given, nor the date on which the change was made, in botany Amaranthus retroflexus L. – L. is the standard abbreviation used in botany for Linnaeus. – Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica, Rothmaler transferred it to the genus Hyacinthoides, the ICN does not require that the dates of either publication be specified. Prior to the adoption of the binomial system of naming species. Together they formed a system of polynomial nomenclature and these names had two separate functions. First, to designate or label the species, and second, to be a diagnosis or description, such polynomial names may sometimes look like binomials, but are significantly different. For example, Gerards herbal describes various kinds of spiderwort, The first is called Phalangium ramosum, Branched Spiderwort, is aptly termed Phalangium Ephemerum Virginianum, Soon-Fading Spiderwort of Virginia. The Latin phrases are short descriptions, rather than identifying labels, the Bauhins, in particular Caspar Bauhin, took some important steps towards the binomial system, by pruning the Latin descriptions, in many cases to two words. The adoption by biologists of a system of binomial nomenclature is due to Swedish botanist and physician Carl von Linné. It was in his 1753 Species Plantarum that he first began using a one-word trivial name together with a generic name in a system of binomial nomenclature. This trivial name is what is now known as an epithet or specific name

13.
Synonym (taxonomy)
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For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies. This name is no longer in use, it is now a synonym of the current scientific name which is Picea abies, unlike synonyms in other contexts, in taxonomy a synonym is not interchangeable with the name of which it is a synonym. In taxonomy, synonyms are not equals, but have a different status, for any taxon with a particular circumscription, position, and rank, only one scientific name is considered to be the correct one at any given time. A synonym cannot exist in isolation, it is always an alternative to a different scientific name, given that the correct name of a taxon depends on the taxonomic viewpoint used a name that is one taxonomists synonym may be another taxonomists correct name. Synonyms may arise whenever the same taxon is described and named more than once, independently. They may also arise when existing taxa are changed, as when two taxa are joined to one, a species is moved to a different genus. To the general user of scientific names, in such as agriculture, horticulture, ecology, general science. A synonym is a name that was used as the correct scientific name but which has been displaced by another scientific name. Thus Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the term as a name which has the same application as another. In handbooks and general texts, it is useful to have mentioned as such after the current scientific name. Synonyms used in this way may not always meet the strict definitions of the synonym in the formal rules of nomenclature which govern scientific names. Changes of scientific name have two causes, they may be taxonomic or nomenclatural, a name change may be caused by changes in the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, representing a change in taxonomic, scientific insight. A name change may be due to purely nomenclatural reasons, that is, based on the rules of nomenclature, the earliest such name is called the senior synonym, while the later name is the junior synonym. One basic principle of zoological nomenclature is that the earliest correctly published name, synonyms are important because if the earliest name cannot be used, then the next available junior synonym must be used for the taxon. Objective synonyms refer to taxa with the type and same rank. For example, John Edward Gray published the name Antilocapra anteflexa in 1855 for a species of pronghorn, however, it is now commonly accepted that his specimen was an unusual individual of the species Antilocapra americana published by George Ord in 1815. Ords name thus takes precedence, with Antilocapra anteflexa being a subjective synonym. Objective synonyms are common at the level of genera, because for various reasons two genera may contain the type species, these are objective synonyms

14.
Rhizomatous
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In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a modified subterranean stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks and rootstocks, Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and are diageotropic or grow perpendicular to the force of gravity. The rhizome also retains the ability to new shoots to grow upwards. If a rhizome is separated into pieces, each piece may be able to rise to a new plant. The plant uses the rhizome to store starches, proteins, and these nutrients become useful for the plant when new shoots must be formed or when the plant dies back for the winter. This is a known as vegetative reproduction and is used by farmers and gardeners to propagate certain plants. This also allows for lateral spread of grasses like bamboo and bunch grasses, examples of plants that are propagated this way include hops, asparagus, ginger, irises, Lily of the Valley, cannas, and sympodial orchids. Some rhizomes which are used directly in cooking include ginger, turmeric, galangal, stored rhizomes are subject to bacterial and fungal infections, making them unsuitable for replanting and greatly diminishing stocks. However, rhizomes can also be produced artificially from tissue cultures, the ability to easily grow rhizomes from tissue cultures leads to better stocks for replanting and greater yields. The plant hormones ethylene and jasmonic acid have found to help induce and regulate the growth of rhizomes. Ethylene that was applied externally was found to affect internal ethylene levels, knowledge of how to use these hormones to induce rhizome growth could help farmers and biologists producing plants grown from rhizomes more easily cultivate and grow better plants. The poplars are an example of trees that propagate using a rhizome, the Pando colony in Utah is a famous example, which has been living for about 80,000 years. In general, rhizomes have short internodes, they send out roots from the bottom of the nodes, a stem tuber is a thickened part of a rhizome or stolon that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ. In general, a tuber is high in starch, for example, the common potato, the term tuber is often used imprecisely, and is sometimes applied to plants with rhizomes. Some plants have rhizomes that grow above ground or that lie at the surface, including some Iris species. Rhizomes generally form a layer, but in Giant Horsetails. Many rhizomes have culinary value, and some, such as zheergen, are consumed raw. Aspen Corm Mycorrhiza Media related to Rhizomes at Wikimedia Commons

15.
Herbaceous plant
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Herbaceous plants are plants that have no persistent woody stem above ground. Herbaceous plants may be annuals, biennials or perennials, annual herbaceous plants die completely at the end of the growing season or when they have flowered and fruited, and they then grow again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plants may have stems that die at the end of the growing season, but parts of the plant survive under or close to the ground from season to season. New growth develops from living tissues remaining on or under the ground, including roots, examples of herbaceous biennials include carrot, parsnip and common ragwort, herbaceous perennials include potato, peony, hosta, mint, most ferns and most grasses. Some relatively fast-growing herbaceous plants are pioneers, or early-successional species, others form the main vegetation of many stable habitats, occurring for example in the ground layer of forests, or in naturally open habitats such as meadow, salt marsh or desert. Some herbaceous plants can grow large, such as the Musa genus. The age of some herbaceous plants can be determined by analyzing annual growth rings in the secondary root xylem

16.
Perennial plant
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A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs. Tomato vines, for example, live several years in their natural habitat but are grown as annuals in temperate regions because they dont survive the winter. There is also a class of evergreen, or non-herbaceous, perennials, an intermediate class of plants is known as subshrubs, which retain a vestigial woody structure in winter, e. g. Penstemon. The local climate may dictate whether plants are treated as shrubs or perennials, for instance, many varieties of Fuchsia are shrubs in warm regions, but in colder temperate climates may be cut to the ground every year as a result of winter frosts. The symbol for a plant, based on Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, is. Perennial plants can be short-lived or they can be long-lived, as are some plants like trees. They include an assortment of plant groups from ferns and liverworts to the highly diverse flowering plants like orchids. Plants that flower and fruit only once and then die are termed monocarpic or semelparous, however, most perennials are polycarpic, flowering over many seasons in their lifetime. Perennials typically grow structures that allow them to adapt to living one year to the next through a form of vegetative reproduction rather than seeding. These structures include bulbs, tubers, woody crowns, rhizomes plus others and they might have specialized stems or crowns that allow them to survive periods of dormancy over cold or dry seasons during the year. Many perennials have developed specialized features that allow them to extreme climatic. Some have adapted to hot and dry conditions or cold temperatures. Those plants tend to invest a lot of resource into their adaptations and often do not flower, Many perennials produce relatively large seeds, which can have an advantage, with larger seedlings produced after germination that can better compete with other plants. Some annuals produce many seeds per plant in one season, while some perennials are not under the same pressure to produce large numbers of seeds. In warmer and more favorable climates, perennials grow continuously, in seasonal climates, their growth is limited to the growing season. In some species, perennials retain their foliage all year round, other plants are deciduous perennials, for example, in temperate regions a perennial plant may grow and bloom during the warm part of the year, with the foliage dying back in the winter

17.
Temperateness
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In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of Earth lie between the tropics and the polar regions. The temperatures in these regions are relatively moderate, rather than extremely hot or cold. The north temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle, the south temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic Circle. In some climate classifications, the zone is often divided into several smaller climate zones. These include Humid subtropical climate, Mediterranean climate, oceanic, subtropical climates are located between 23. 5° and 35. 0° north or south latitude on the eastern or leeward sides of landmasses. This climate has long, generally hot, summers and short, mild winters and these climates may occur in southern Asia, the southeastern United States, parts of eastern Australia, and in eastern coastal South America. Mediterranean climates, occur between 30° and 42° north and south latitude, on the sides of landmasses. This climate has hot summers and short mild winters, however, seasonal rainfall is the opposite of that of the subtropical humid type. These climates occur near the rimlands of the Mediterranean Sea, in western Australia, in California, the oceanic climates occur in the higher middle latitudes, between 45° and 60° north and south latitude. They are created by the flow from the cool high latitude oceans to their west. This causes the climate to have cool summers and cool winters, annual rainfall is spread throughout the entire year. Regions with this climate include Western Europe, northwestern North America, the Continental climates occur in middle latitudes, between 35° or 40° to 55°. These climates are normally inland or on sides of landmasses. They feature warm to hot summers and cold winters, with a large temperature variation. Regions with this climate include northern temperate Asia, the northern United States, southern Canada, the vast majority of the worlds human population resides in temperate zones, especially in the northern hemisphere, due to its greater mass of land. The richest temperate flora in the world is found in southern Africa, geographical zone Habitat Köppen climate classification Middle latitudes Polar circle Subtropics

18.
Spathe
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In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves and they may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture. Typically, they look different from the parts of the flower. The state of having bracts is referred to as bracteate or bracteolate, some bracts are brightly colored and serve the function of attracting pollinators, either together with the perianth or instead of it. Examples of this type of bract include Euphorbia pulcherrima and Bougainvillea, in grasses, each floret is enclosed in a pair of papery bracts, called the lemma and palea, while each spikelet has a further pair of bracts at its base called glumes. These bracts form the chaff removed from cereal grain during threshing and winnowing, bats may detect acoustic signals from dish-shaped bracts such as those of Marcgravia evenia. A prophyll is a structure, such as a bracteole. The term can mean the lower bract on a peduncle. The frequently showy pair of bracts of Euphorbia species in subgenus Lacanthis are the cyathophylls, bracts subtend the cone scales in the seed cones of many conifers, and in some cases, such as Pseudotsuga, they extend beyond the cone scales. A small bract is called a bracteole or bractlet, technically this is any bract that arises on a pedicel instead of subtending it. Bracts that appear in a whorl subtending an inflorescence are called an involucre. An involucre is a common feature beneath the inflorescences of many Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Dipsacaceae and Polygonaceae, each flower in an inflorescence may have its own whorl of bracts, in this case called an involucel. In this case they may be called chaff, paleas, or receptacular bracts and are usually minute scales or bristles, many asteraceous plants have bracts at the base of each inflorescence. The term involucre is also used for a highly conspicuous bract or bract pair at the base of an inflorescence, in the family Betulaceae, notably in the genera Carpinus and Corylus, the involucre is a leafy structure that protects the developing nuts. Beggar-tick has narrow involucral bracts surrounding each inflorescence, each of which also has a bract below it. There is then a pair of bracts on the main stem. It is a calyx-like extra whorl of floral appendages, each individual segment of the epicalyx is called an episepal because they resemble the sepals. They are present in family Malvaceae, the Hibiscus family, fragaria may or may not have an epicalyx

19.
Sepals
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A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms. Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, the term sepalum was coined by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker in 1790, and derived from the Greek σκεπη, a covering. Collectively the sepals are called the calyx, the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower, the word calyx was adopted from the Latin calyx, not to be confused with calix, a cup or goblet. Calyx derived from the Greek κάλυξ, a bud, a calyx, a husk or wrapping, while derived from the Greek κυλιξ, a cup or goblet. After flowering, most plants have no use for the calyx which withers or becomes vestigial. Some plants retain a thorny calyx, either dried or live, examples include species of Acaena, some of the Solanaceae, and the water caltrop, Trapa natans. In some species the calyx not only persists after flowering, but instead of withering and this is an effective protection against some kinds of birds and insects, for example in Hibiscus trionum and the Cape gooseberry. Morphologically, both sepals and petals are modified leaves, the calyx and the corolla are the outer sterile whorls of the flower, which together form what is known as the perianth. The term tepal is usually applied when the parts of the perianth are difficult to distinguish, e. g. the petals and sepals share the same color, or the petals are absent and the sepals are colorful. When the undifferentiated tepals resemble petals, they are referred to as petaloid, as in petaloid monocots, since they include Liliales, an alternative name is lilioid monocots. Examples of plants in which the term tepal is appropriate include genera such as Aloe, in contrast, genera such as Rosa and Phaseolus have well-distinguished sepals and petals. The number of sepals in a flower is its merosity, flower merosity is indicative of a plants classification. The merosity of a flower is typically four or five. The merosity of a monocot or palaeodicot flower is three, or a multiple of three, the development and form of the sepals vary considerably among flowering plants. They may be free or fused together, often, the sepals are much reduced, appearing somewhat awn-like, or as scales, teeth, or ridges. Most often such structures protrude until the fruit is mature and falls off, examples of flowers with much reduced perianths are found among the grasses. In some flowers, the sepals are fused towards the base, in other flowers a hypanthium includes the bases of sepals, petals, and the attachment points of the stamens

20.
Tepals
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A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower when these parts cannot easily be divided into two kinds, sepals and petals. The term was first proposed by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1827, undifferentiated tepals are believed to be the ancestral condition in flowering plants. For example, Amborella, which is thought to have separated earliest in the evolution of flowering plants, has flowers with undifferentiated tepals, distinct petals and sepals would therefore have arisen by differentiation, probably in response to animal pollination. Tepals formed by similar sepals and petals are common in monocotyledons, in tulips, for example, the first and second whorls both contain structures that look like petals. These are fused at the base to one large, showy. In lilies the organs in the first whorl are separate from the second, where sepals and petals can in principle be distinguished, usage of the term tepal is not always consistent – some authors will refer to sepals and petals where others use tepals in the same context. In some plants the flowers have no petals, and all the tepals are sepals modified to look like petals and these organs are described as petaloid, for example, the sepals of hellebores. When the undifferentiated tepals resemble petals, they are referred to as petaloid, as in petaloid monocots. Since they include Liliales, a name is lilioid monocots. Terms used in the description of tepals include pubescent, puberulent, tepal shape is described in similar terms to those used for leaves. Plant Systematics - Jones, Samuel - McGraw-Hill 1979 ISBN 0-07-032795-5

21.
Diploid
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Ploidy is the number of sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Cells are described according to the number of present, monoploid, diploid, triploid, tetraploid, pentaploid, hexaploid, heptaploid or septaploid. The generic term polyploid is used to describe cells with three or more sets of chromosomes, humans are diploid organisms, carrying two complete sets of chromosomes, one set of 23 chromosomes from their father and one set of 23 chromosomes from their mother. The two sets combined provide a complement of 46 chromosomes. This total number of chromosomes is called the chromosome number, when a species has a varying chromosome number, e. g. a diploid and tetraploid form, the chromosome number is called diploid number in the diploid form, and tetraploid number in the tetraploid form. The number of found in a single complete set of chromosomes is called the monoploid number. The haploid number is unique to gametes, and refers to the number of chromosomes found in a gamete. The haploid number for humans is 23, and the monoploid number equals 46 divided by the level of 2. When a human germ cell undergoes meiosis the two sets of 23 chromosomes are split in half to form gametes, after fusion of a male and a female gamete both containing 1 set of 23 chromosomes, the resulting zygote has 46 chromosomes,2 sets of 23 chromosomes. The common potato is an example of an organism, carrying four sets of chromosomes. The potato plant inherits two sets of 12 chromosomes from the parent, and two sets of 12 chromosomes from the ovule parent. The four sets combined provide a complement of 48 chromosomes. The monoploid number equals the number divided by the ploidy level,48 chromosomes in total divided by a ploidy level of 4 equals a monoploid number of 12. Because the chromosome number is reduced only by the specialized process of meiosis. However, in many situations somatic cells double their number by means of endoreduplication as an aspect of cellular differentiation. When a germ cell with an number of chromosomes undergoes meiosis. Triploid organisms for instance are usually sterile, because of this, triploidy is a common way of making seedless fruit such as bananas and watermelons. If the fertilization of human gametes results in 3 sets of chromosomes the condition is called triploid syndrome, the term ploidy is a back-formation from haploidy and diploidy

22.
Chromosomes
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A chromosome is a DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. Prokaryotes usually have one single circular chromosome, whereas most eukaryotes are diploid, chromosomes in eukaryotes are composed of chromatin fiber. Chromatin fiber is made of nucleosomes, a nucleosome is a histone octamer with part of a longer DNA strand attached to and wrapped around it. Chromatin fiber, together with associated proteins is known as chromatin, chromatin is present in most cells, with a few exceptions, for example, red blood cells. Occurring only in the nucleus of cells, chromatin contains the vast majority of DNA, except for a small amount inherited maternally. Chromosomes are normally visible under a microscope only when the cell is undergoing the metaphase of cell division. Before this happens every chromosome is copied once, and the copy is joined to the original by a centromere resulting in an X-shaped structure, the original chromosome and the copy are now called sister chromatids. During metaphase, when a chromosome is in its most condensed state, in this highly condensed form chromosomes are easiest to distinguish and study. In prokaryotic cells, chromatin occurs free-floating in cytoplasm, as these cells lack organelles, the main information-carrying macromolecule is a single piece of coiled double-helix DNA, containing many genes, regulatory elements and other noncoding DNA. The DNA-bound macromolecules are proteins that serve to package the DNA, chromosomes vary widely between different organisms. Some species such as certain bacteria also contain plasmids or other extrachromosomal DNA and these are circular structures in the cytoplasm that contain cellular DNA and play a role in horizontal gene transfer. Chromosomal recombination during meiosis and subsequent sexual reproduction plays a significant role in genetic diversity. In prokaryotes and viruses, the DNA is often densely packed and organized, in the case of archaea, by homologs to eukaryotic histones, small circular genomes called plasmids are often found in bacteria and also in mitochondria and chloroplasts, reflecting their bacterial origins. Some use the term chromosome in a sense, to refer to the individualized portions of chromatin in cells. However, others use the concept in a sense, to refer to the individualized portions of chromatin during cell division. The word chromosome comes from the Greek χρῶμα and σῶμα, describing their strong staining by particular dyes, schleiden, Virchow and Bütschli were among the first scientists who recognized the structures now so familiar to everyone as chromosomes. The term was coined by von Waldeyer-Hartz, referring to the term chromatin, in a series of experiments beginning in the mid-1880s, Theodor Boveri gave the definitive demonstration that chromosomes are the vectors of heredity. His two principles were the continuity of chromosomes and the individuality of chromosomes and it is the second of these principles that was so original

23.
Chinese characters
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Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and some other Asian languages. In Standard Chinese, and sometimes also in English, they are called hànzì. They have been adapted to write a number of languages including, Japanese, where they are known as kanji, Korean, where they are known as hanja. Collectively, they are known as CJK characters, in English, they are sometimes called Han characters. Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world, Chinese characters number in the tens of thousands, though most of them are minor graphic variants encountered only in historical texts. Studies in China have shown that literacy in written Chinese requires a knowledge of between three and four thousand characters. In Japan,2,136 are taught through secondary school, the characters used in Japan are distinct from those used in China in many respects. There are various national standard lists of characters, forms, in South Korea, when Chinese characters are used they are of the traditional variant and are almost identical to those used in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Old Chinese, most words were monosyllabic and there was a correspondence between characters and words. Rather, a character almost always corresponds to a syllable that is also a morpheme. However, there are a few exceptions to this correspondence, including bisyllabic morphemes. Modern Chinese has many homophones, thus the same syllable may be represented by many characters. A single character may also have a range of meanings, or sometimes quite distinct meanings, cognates in the several varieties of Chinese are generally written with the same character. They typically have similar meanings, but often quite different pronunciations and these foreign adaptations of Chinese pronunciation are known as Sino-Xenic pronunciations, and have been useful in the reconstruction of Middle Chinese. When the script was first used in the late 2nd millennium BC, words of Old Chinese were generally monosyllabic, increasing numbers of polysyllabic words have entered the language from the Western Zhou period to the present day. The process has accelerated over the centuries as phonetic change has increased the number of homophones and it has been estimated that over two thirds of the 3,000 most common words in modern Standard Chinese are polysyllables, the vast majority of those being disyllables. The most common process has been to form compounds of existing words, words have also been created by adding affixes, reduplication and borrowing from other languages. Polysyllabic words are written with one character per syllable

24.
Botanical name
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The purpose of a formal name is to have a single name that is accepted and used worldwide for a particular plant or plant group. Later, the plant was introduced worldwide, bringing it contact with more languages. English names for plant species include, daisy, English daisy. The cultivar Bellis perennis Aucubifolia is a golden-variegated horticultural selection of this species, the botanical name itself is fixed by a type, which is a particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralize the defining features of that particular taxon. For example, the view of the family Malvaceae has been expanded in some modern approaches to include what were formerly considered to be several closely related families. Some botanical names refer to groups that are stable while for other names a careful check is needed to see which circumscription is being used. Depending on rank, botanical names may be in one part, the names of cultivated plants are not necessarily similar to the botanical names, since they may instead involve unambiguous common names of species or genera. A botanical name in three parts, i. e. an infraspecific name needs a connecting term to indicate rank, in the Calystegia example above, this is subsp. for subspecies. In botany there are ranks below that of species. A name of a subdivision of a genus also needs a connecting term, the connecting term is not part of the name itself. A taxon may be indicated by a listing in more than three parts, Saxifraga aizoon var. aizoon subvar, brevifolia f. multicaulis subf. surculosa Engl. But this is a classification, not a botanical name. The botanical name is Saxifraga aizoon subf. surculosa Engl, generic, specific, and infraspecific botanical names are usually printed in italics. For botanical nomenclature, the ICN prescribes a two-part name or binary name for any taxon below the rank of genus down to, taxa below the rank of species get a three part. A binary name consists of the name of a genus and an epithet, in the case of a species this is a specific epithet, Bellis perennis is the name of a species, in which perennis is the specific epithet. There is no connecting term involved, to indicate the rank, in the case of a subdivision of a genus the name consists of the name of a genus and a subdivisional epithet. A connecting term should be placed before the subdivisional epithet to indicate the rank, falcataria In the case of cultivated plants, there is an additional epithet which is an often non-Latin part, not written in italics

25.
Yunnan
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Yunnan is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country. It spans approximately 394,000 square kilometres and has a population of 45.7 million in 2009, the capital of the province is Kunming, formerly also known as Yunnan. The province borders Vietnam, Laos, and Burma, Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the northwest and low elevations in the southeast. Most of the lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the altitude can vary from the peaks to river valleys as much as 3,000 metres. Yunnan is rich in resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of plants in China. Yunnans reserves of aluminium, lead, zinc and tin are the largest in China, the Han Empire first recorded diplomatic relations with the province at the end of the 2nd century BC. It became the seat of a Sino-Tibetan-speaking kingdom of Nanzhao in the 8th centuryAD, Nanzhao was multi-ethnic, but the elite most-likely spoke a northern dialect of Yi. The Mongols conquered the region in the 13th century, with local control exercised by warlords until the 1930s, as with other parts of Chinas southwest, Japanese occupation in the north during World War II forced another migration of majority Han people into the region. These two wave of migration contributed to Yunnan being one of the most ethnically diverse provinces of China, major ethnic groups include Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai and Miao. The Yuanmou Man, a Homo erectus fossil unearthed by railway engineers in the 1960s, has determined to be the oldest-known hominid fossil in China. By the Neolithic period, there were settlements in the area of Lake Dian. These people used tools and constructed simple wooden structures. Around the 3rd century BC, the area of Yunnan around present day Kunming was known as Dian. The Chu general Zhuang Qiao entered the region from the upper Yangtze River and he and his followers brought into Yunnan an influx of Chinese influence, the start of a long history of migration and cultural expansion. In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang unified China and extended his authority south, commanderies and counties were established in Yunnan. An existing road in Sichuan – the Five Foot Way – was extended south to present day Qujing

26.
Jardin des Plantes
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The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national dhistoire naturelle and it is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares. The grounds of the Jardin des Plantes includes four galleries of the Muséum, the Grande Galerie de lÉvolution, the Mineralogy Museum, the Paleontology Museum and the Entomology Museum. In addition to the gardens there is also a zoo, Ménagerie du Jardin des plantes. The Jardin des Plantes maintains a school, which trains botanists, constructs demonstration gardens. About 4500 plants are arranged by family on a one hectare plot, three hectares are devoted to horticultural displays of decorative plants. An Alpine garden has 3000 species with world-wide representation, specialized buildings, such as a large Art Deco winter garden, and Mexican and Australian hothouses display regional plants, not native to France. The Rose Garden, created in 1990, has hundreds of species of roses, founded in 1626, the garden was not planted by Guy de La Brosse, Louis XIIIs physician, until 1635 as a medicinal herb garden. It was originally known as the Jardin du Roi, in 1640 it opened to the public. After a period of decline, Jean-Baptiste Colbert took administrative control of the gardens and it includes the 6,963 specimens of the herbarium collection of Joseph Tournefort, donated on his death to the Jardin du Roi. The Comte de Buffon became the curator in 1739 and he expanded the gardens greatly, adding a maze, the Labyrinth, in 1792 the Royal Menagerie was moved to the gardens from Versailles. List of botanical gardens in France Official site Paris Botanical Garden

27.
Joseph Dalton Hooker
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Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM GCSI CB PRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. He was a founder of botany and Charles Darwins closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, succeeding his father, William Jackson Hooker, Hooker was born in Halesworth, Suffolk, England. From age seven, Hooker attended his fathers lectures at Glasgow University, taking an early interest in plant distribution and he was educated at the Glasgow High School and went on to study medicine at Glasgow University, graduating M. D. in 1839. In 1851 he married Frances Harriet Henslow, daughter of Darwins mentor and they had four sons and three daughters, William Henslow Hooker Harriet Anne Hooker married William Turner Thiselton-Dyer Charles Paget Hooker Maria Elizabeth Hooker died aged 6. Brian Harvey Hodgson Hooker Reginald Hawthorn Hooker statistician Grace Ellen Hooker Frances Harriet Henslows contribution to his work included translating French botanical texts which Hooker edited. After his first wifes death in 1874, in 1876 he married Lady Hyacinth Jardine, daughter of William Samuel Symonds and they had two sons, Joseph Symonds Hooker Richard Symonds Hooker. Joseph Hooker died in his sleep at midnight at home, the Camp, Sunningdale in Berkshire, on 10 December 1911 after a short, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey offered a grave near Darwins in the nave but also insisted that Hooker be cremated before. His memorial tablet in the church, with a motif of five plants, was designed by Matilds Smith. Hookers first expedition, led by James Clark Ross, consisted of two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, it was the last major voyage of exploration made entirely under sail, Hooker was the youngest of the 128-man crew. He sailed on the Erebus and was assistant to Robert McCormick, the ships sailed on 30 September 1839. Before journeying to Antarctica they visited Madeira, Tenerife, Santiago and Quail Island in the Cape Verde archipelago, St Paul Rocks, Trinidade east of Brazil, St Helena, and the Cape of Good Hope. Hooker made plant collections at each location and while travelling drew these and specimens of algae, from the Cape they entered the southern ocean. Their first stop was the Crozet Islands where they set down on Possession Island to deliver coffee to sealers and they departed for the Kerguelen Islands where they would spend several days. The expedition spent some time in Hobart, Van Diemens Land, and then moved on to the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island, and onward to Antarctica to locate the South Magnetic Pole. After spending 5 months in the Antarctic they returned to resupply in Hobart, then went on to Sydney, and they left New Zealand to return to Antarctica. They made a landing at Cockburn Island and after leaving the Antarctic, stopped at the Cape, St Helena and Ascension Island. The ships arrived back in England on 4 September 1843, the voyage had been a success for Ross as it was the first to confirm the existence of the southern continent, in 1845, Hooker applied for the Chair of Botany at the University of Edinburgh

28.
Curtis's Botanical Magazine
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The Botanical Magazine, or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is referred to by the subsequent name Curtiss Botanical Magazine. Each of the issues contains a description, in yet accessible language. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, and the description given was enhanced by the keenly detailed illustrations, the first issue, published on 1 February 1787, was begun by William Curtis, as both an illustrated gardening and botanical journal. Curtis was an apothecary and botanist who held a position at Kew Gardens, the publication familiarized its readers with ornamental and exotic plants, which it presented in octavo format. Artists who had given over their flower paintings to an affluent audience. The illustrations were initially hand-coloured prints, taken from copper engravings, identification by a general reader was given in exploded details, some of which were given as a section. This was accompanied by a page or two of text describing the properties, history, growth characteristics, and some common names for the species. The first volumes illustrations were mostly by Sydenham Edwards, a dispute with the editors saw his departure to start the rival The Botanical Register. The credit for the first plate goes to James Sowerby, as did a dozen of Edwards contributions, the first thirty volumes used copper engraving to provide the plates, the hand colouring of these was performed by up to thirty people. An issue might have a circulation of 3000 copies, with 3 plates in each, as costs of production rose, and demand increased, results would be variable within a run. The later use of machine colouring would provide uniformity to the artists work, the magazine has been considered to be the premier journal for early botanical illustration. When Curtis died, having completed 13 volumes, his friend John Sims became editor between 1801 and 1807 and changed the name, William Hooker was the editor from 1826, bringing to it his experience as a botanist, and as author of the rival magazine, Exotic Botany. W. J. Hooker brought the artist Walter Hood Fitch to the magazine, Joseph Dalton Hooker followed his father, becoming the Director of Kew Gardens in 1865, and editor of its magazine. She rendered almost 100 illustrations for publication during the period 1878–1880, helping to keep the magazine viable until the principal artist. Like Thiselton-Dyer, Smith was brought to the magazine by Hooker, between 1878 and 1923 Smith drew over 2,300 plates for Curtiss. Her exceptional contribution was to see her become the first botanic artist of Kew, the scientific value of the figures and illustration, a source of pride and notability for the magazine, required the careful training of the illustrators. The magazine is the greatest serial of botanical illustration yet produced, other 19th century artists who contributed largely to the magazine include Augusta Innes Withers and Anne Henslow Barnard, Joseph Dalton Hookers sister-in-law, who was active in the period 1879–1894

29.
Kew Gardens
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Kew Gardens is a botanical garden in southwest London that houses the largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the collection contains more than 175,000 prints. It is one of Londons top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Site, Kew Gardens has its own police force, Kew Constabulary, which has been in operation since 1847. Kew, the area in which Kew Gardens are situated, consists mainly of the gardens themselves, Royal residences in the area which would later influence the layout and construction of the gardens began in 1299 when Edward I moved his court to a manor house in neighbouring Richmond. That manor house was abandoned, however, Henry VII built Sheen Palace in 1501. Around the start of the 16th century courtiers attending Richmond Palace settled in Kew, early royal residences at Kew included Mary Tudors house, which was in existence by 1522 when a driveway was built to connect it to the palace at Richmond. Around 1600, the land that would become the gardens was known as Kew Field, the exotic garden at Kew Park, formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury, was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The origins of Kew Gardens can be traced to the merging of the estates of Richmond. William Chambers built several structures, including the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761 which still remains. George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks, the old Kew Park, was demolished in 1802. The Dutch House adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children and it is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace. Some early plants came from the garden established by William Coys at Stubbers in North Ockendon. The collections grew somewhat haphazardly until the appointment of the first collector, Francis Masson, capability Brown, who became Englands most renowned landscape architect, applied for the position of master gardener at Kew, and was rejected. In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a botanical garden, in large part due to the efforts of the Royal Horticultural Society. Under Kews director, William Hooker, the gardens were increased to 30 hectares and the grounds, or arboretum, extended to 109 hectares. The first curator was John Smith, the Palm House was built by architect Decimus Burton and iron-maker Richard Turner between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron. It is considered the worlds most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure, the structures panes of glass are all hand-blown. The Temperate House, which is twice as large as the Palm House and it is now the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence

30.
Iris laevigata
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Iris laevigata, known as Japanese iris, rabbit-ear iris or kakitsubata, is a Japanese species of iris related to other members of Iris subgenus Limniris, including other species of Japanese irises. It is found growing in waters and seems to prefer marshy. Alternative names for I. laeviegata are I. albopurpurea and I. phragmitetorum, when grown from seeds, they usually germinate in 30–545 days although even under good conditions germination may be erratic. Seeds should be sown about 6 mm deep in a peaty seed sowing mix at about 15-20°C with frequent watering, some varieties are almost ever-blooming even in mild climates, which makes it a good candidate for water gardens in temperate areas in Europe and the Americas. This plant has been cultivated in Japan for more than a thousand years, the variegated cultivar I. laevigata Variegata has gained the Royal Horticultural Societys Award of Garden Merit. The poem goes, KArakoromo KItsutsu narenishi TSUma shi areba HArubaru kinuru TAbi wo shi zo omou, the Kikatsubata is the prefectural flower of Aichi prefecture as well as of Chiryū City. Each year at the end of April a festival is held in the garden as a celebration of the flowering. The Nezu Museum in Aoyama, in central Tokyo, possesses a pair of National Treasure screens painted by Ogata Korin, Irises, the screens are placed on display mid-April to mid-May every year, when the kakitsubata are in bloom in the pond in the museum garden

31.
United States Department of Agriculture
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Approximately 80% of USDAs $140 billion budget goes to the Food and Nutrition Service program. The largest component of the FNS budget is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, after the resignation of Thomas Vilsack on January 13,2017 and the departure of President Barack Obama from office on January 20,2017, the acting Secretary of Agriculture is Michael Young. Activities in this include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides healthy food to over 40 million low-income. The USDA also is concerned with assisting farmers and food producers with the sale of crops and it plays a role in overseas aid programs by providing surplus foods to developing countries. This aid can go through USAID, foreign governments, international bodies such as World Food Program, the Agricultural Act of 1949, section 416 and Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, also known as Food for Peace, provides the legal basis of such actions. The USDA is a partner of the World Cocoa Foundation, early in its history, the economy of the United States was largely agrarian. Officials in the government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants. In 1837 Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, a Yale-educated attorney interested in improving agriculture, became Commissioner of Patents and he began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the Congress and agricultural societies. In 1839, Congress established the Agricultural Division within the Patent Office and allotted $1,000 for the collection of agricultural statistics, Ellsworth was called the Father of the Department of Agriculture. In 1849, the Patent Office was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior, in the ensuing years, agitation for a separate bureau of agriculture within the department or a separate department devoted to agriculture kept recurring. Lincoln called it the peoples department, in the 1880s, varied advocacy groups were lobbying for Cabinet representation. Business interests sought a Department of Commerce and Industry, and farmers tried to raise the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet rank, finally, on February 9,1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level. In 1887, the Hatch Act provided for the funding of agricultural experiment stations in each state. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 then funded cooperative extension services in each state to teach agriculture, home economics, with these and similar provisions, the USDA reached out to every county of every state. During the Great Depression, farming remained a way of life for millions of Americans. The Department of Agricultures Bureau of Home Economics, established in 1923, published shopping advice and recipes to stretch family budgets and make food go farther. USDA helped ensure that continued to be produced and distributed to those who needed it, assisted with loans for small landowners. The Department of Agriculture was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of $139.7 billion, the Washington Post reports that he said There are days when I have literally nothing to do, he recalled thinking as he weighed his decision to quit

32.
Agricultural Research Service
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The Agricultural Research Service is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. ARS is one of four agencies in USDAs Research, Education, ARS research focuses on solving problems affecting Americans every day. ARS has more than 2,200 permanent scientists working on approximately 1,100 research projects at more than 100 locations across the country, innovation and commercialization are the heart of these facilities, which have given life to hundreds of products, processes and technologies. ARSs Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, ARS operates the U. S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida, and the U. S. National Poultry Research Center in Athens, Georgia. ARS also has six major human nutrition research centers focus on solving a wide spectrum of human nutrition questions by providing authoritative. The centers are located in Arkansas, Maryland, Texas, North Dakota, Massachusetts, ARS scientists at these centers study the role of food and dietary components in human health from conception to advanced old age. ARS research complements the work of state colleges and universities, agricultural experiment stations, other federal and state agencies, ARS research may often focus on regional issues that have national implications, and where there is a clear federal role. ARS disseminates much of its results through scientific journals, technical publications, Agricultural Research magazine. Information is also distributed through ARSs National Agricultural Library, ARS has more than 150 librarians and other information specialists who work at two NAL locations—the Abraham Lincoln Building in Beltsville, Maryland, and the DC Reference Center in Washington, D. C. NAL provides reference and information services, document delivery, interlibrary loan, ARS maintains a culture collection also called NRRL. S. Horticultural Research Laboratory National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research Agricultural Research Service, archived from the original on October 14,2004. Archived from the original on 6 October 2005, - An online catalog from the Agricultural Research Service Information Staff. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009, archived from the original on 26 August 2009. National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009, archived from the original on 2 September 2009. Archived from the original on 16 November 2008, official website Agricultural Research Service in the Federal Register

33.
Royal Horticultural Society
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The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England, as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UKs leading gardening charity and claims to be the world’s largest gardening charity, the RHS quotes its charitable purpose as The encouragement and improvement of the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches. The current Director General is Sue Biggs, the charity promotes horticulture through flower shows such as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, RHS Tatton Park Flower Show and RHS Cardiff Flower Show. It also supports training for professional and amateur gardeners, the creation of a British horticultural society was suggested by John Wedgwood in 1800. The society would also award prizes for gardening achievements, Wedgwood discussed the idea with his friends, but it was four years before the first meeting, of seven men, took place, on 7 March 1804 at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly, London. Banks proposed his friend Thomas Andrew Knight for membership, the proposal was accepted, despite Knights ongoing feud with Forsyth over a plaster for healing tree wounds which Forsyth was developing. Knight was President of the society from 1811–1838, and developed the societys aims, in 2009, more than 363,000 people were members of the society, and the number increased to more than 414,000 in 2013. Membership and fellowship of the society were previously decided by election, Fellowship may be secured through a suggested £5,000 donation each year. Members and Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society are entitled to use the post-nominal letters MRHS and FRHS, respectively. The Royal Horticultural Societys four major gardens in England are, Wisley Garden, near Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor Garden in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in Harrogate, the Societys first garden was in Kensington, from 1818–1822. In 1821 the society leased part of the Duke of Devonshires estate at Chiswick to set up an experimental garden, from 1827 the society held fêtes at the Chiswick garden, and from 1833, shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables. In 1861 the RHS developed a new garden at South Kensington on land leased from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, the Chiswick garden was maintained until 1903–1904, by which time Sir Thomas Hanbury had bought the garden at Wisley and presented it to the RHS. RHS Garden Wisley is thus the societys oldest garden, Rosemoor came next, presented by Lady Anne Berry in 1988. Hyde Hall was given to the RHS in 1993 by its owners Dick, Dick Robinson was also the owner of the Harry Smith Collection which was based at Hyde Hall. The most recent addition is Harlow Carr, acquired by the merger of the Northern Horticultural Society with the RHS in 2001 and it had been the Northern Horticultural Societys trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1949. In 2013, more than 1.63 million people visited the four gardens, in 2015, the RHS announced plans for a fifth garden at Worsley New Hall, Greater Manchester, under the name RHS Garden Bridgewater. The RHS is well known for its flower shows which take place across the UK. The most famous of these shows being the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and this is followed by the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and RHS Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire

34.
Award of Garden Merit
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The Award of Garden Merit is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society. It is based on assessment of the performance under UK growing conditions. The Award of Garden Merit is a mark of quality awarded, since 1922, awards are made annually after plant trials intended to judge the plants performance under UK growing conditions. Trial reports are available as booklets and on the RHS website. Awards are reviewed annually in case plants have become unavailable horticulturally, the AGM should not be confused with the RHS Award of Merit, given to plants deemed of great merit for exhibition i. e. for show, not garden, plants. The AGM was reviewed in 1992, to increase its usefulness, field trial results gained weight in the assessments and existing AGM plants were reviewed in the light of more recent experience. The AGMs were to be reviewed at 10 year intervals from 1992, the 2012/13 review, with advice from experts such as RHS plant committees, specialist societies, Plant Heritage National Collection holders and others, resulted in many changes. Nearly 1,900 plants lost their AGMs and more than 1,400 plants gained awards, the AGM symbol represents a cup-shaped trophy with handles

35.
Chinese provinces
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Provinces, formally provincial-level administrative divisions or first-level administrative divisions, are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 34 such divisions, classified as 23 provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions, the Peoples Republic of China claims sovereignty over the territory administered by the Republic of China, claiming most of it as its Taiwan Province. The ROC also administers some offshore islands which form Fujian Province and these were part of an originally unified Fujian province, which since the stalemate of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 has been divided between the PRC and ROC. Note that every province has a Communist Party of China provincial committee, the committee secretary is in effective charge of the province, rather than the nominal governor of the provincial government. The government of each province is nominally led by a provincial committee. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province, second-in-command is the governor of the provincial government, the Peoples Republic of China claims the island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including Penghu, as Taiwan Province. The territory is controlled by the Republic of China, a municipality or direct-controlled municipality is a higher level of city which is directly under the Chinese government, with status equal to that of the provinces. In practice, their status is higher than that of common provinces. The governor of each region is usually appointed from the respective minority ethnic group. A special administrative region is an autonomous and self-governing subnational subject of the Peoples Republic of China that is directly under the Central Peoples Government. Each SAR has an executive as head of the region. The regions government is not fully independent, as policy and military defence are the responsibility of the central government. Notes,1, as of 20102, per km23, km24, Abbreviation in the parentheses is informal 5, Since founding in 1949, however, the PRC has never controlled Taiwan. Taiwan currently administers Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, the subject of whether or not Taiwan is part of China is often debated, with no clear conclusion. The Ming Dynasty kept the system set up by the Yuan Dynasty, however. By the time of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644 there were 18 provinces, in addition, there was a zongdu, a general military inspector or governor general, for every two to three provinces. Outer regions of China were not divided into provinces, military leaders or generals oversaw Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Mongolia, while vice-dutong and civilian leaders headed the leagues, a subdivision of Mongolia. The ambans supervised the administration of Tibet, in 1884 Xinjiang became a province, in 1907 Fengtian, Jilin, and Heilongjiang were made provinces as well

36.
Guizhou
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Guizhou, formerly romanized as Kweichow, is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. The area was first organized as a region of a Chinese empire under the Tang. During the Mongolian Yuan dynasty, the character 矩 was changed to the more refined 貴, the region formally became a province in 1413, with an eponymous capital then also called Guizhou but now known as Guiyang. From around 1046 BCE to the emergence of the Qin Dynasty, during the Warring States period, the Chinese state of Chu conquered the area, and control later passed to the Dian Kingdom. During the Three Kingdoms period, parts of Guizhou were governed by the Shu Han state based in Sichuan, followed by Cao Wei, during the 8th and 9th centuries in the Tang Dynasty, Chinese soldiers moved into Guizhou and married native women. Their descendants are known as Lǎohànrén, in contrast to new Chinese who populated Guizhou at later times and they still speak an archaic dialect. Many immigrants to Guizhou were descended from soldiers in garrisons who married these pre-Chinese women. It was during the following Ming Dynasty, which was again led by Han Chinese. The Ming established many garrisons in Guizhou from which to pacify the Yao and Miao minorities during the Miao Rebellions, chinese-style agriculture flourished with the expertise of farmers from Sichuan, Hunan and its surrounding provinces into Guizhou. Wu Sangui was responsible for the ousting the Ming in Guizhou, after the Second Opium War, criminal triads set up shop in Guangxi and Guizhou to sell British opium. For a time, Taiping Rebels took control of Guizhou, concurrently, Han Chinese soldiers moved into the Taijiang region of Guizhou, married Miao women, and their children were brought up as Miao. More unsuccessful Miao rebellions occurred during the Qing, in 1735, from 1795–1806, after the overthrow of the Qing in 1911 and following Chinese Civil War, the Communists took refuge in Guizhou during the Long March. While the province was ruled by the Guomindang warlord Wang Jialie. As the Second Sino-Japanese War pushed Chinas Nationalist Government to its southwest base of Chongqing, after the Chinese economic reform began in 1978, geographical factors led Guizhou to become the poorest province in China, with a GDP growth average of 9 percent from 1978–1993. Guizhou is a province, although its higher altitudes are in the west. It lies at the end of the Yungui Plateau. Guizhou has a humid climate. Its annual average temperature is roughly 10 to 20 °C, with January temperatures ranging from 1 to 10 °C, like in Chinas other southwest provinces, rural areas of Guizhou suffered severe drought during spring 2010

37.
Sichuan
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In antiquity, Sichuan was the home of the ancient states of Ba and Shu. Their conquest by Qin strengthened it and paved the way for the First Emperors unification of China under the Qin Dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Beis Shu was based in Sichuan. The area was devastated in the 17th century by Zhang Xianzhongs rebellion and the areas subsequent Manchu conquest, during the Second World War, Chongqing served as the temporary capital of the Republic of China, making it the focus of Japanese bombing. It was one of the last mainland areas to fall to the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and was divided into four parts from 1949 to 1952, with Chongqing restored two years later. It suffered gravely during the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–61 but remained Chinas most populous province until Chongqing Municipality was again separated from it in 1997, the people of Sichuan speak a unique form of Mandarin, which took shape during the areas repopulation under the Ming. The family of dialects is now spoken by about 120 million people, in Modern Chinese, the name Sichuan has the meaning four rivers and this folk etymology is usually extended to list the provinces four major rivers, the Jialing, Jinsha, Min, and Tuo. In addition to its map and Wade-Giles forms, the name has also been irregularly romanized as Szű-chuan and Szechuan. In antiquity, the area of modern Sichuan was known to the Chinese as Ba and Shu, in reference to the ancient states of Ba and it was the refuge of the Tang court during the An Lushan Rebellion of the mid-8th century. The region had its own religious beliefs and worldview. The most important native states were those of Ba and Shu, Ba stretched into Sichuan from the Han Valley in Shaanxi and Hubei down the Jialing River as far as its confluence with the Yangtze at Chongqing. Shu occupied the valley of the Min, including Chengdu and other areas of western Sichuan, the existence of the early state of Shu was poorly recorded in the main historical records of China. It was, however, referred to in the Book of Documents as an ally of the Zhou and this site, believed to be an ancient city of Shu, was initially discovered by a local farmer in 1929 who found jade and stone artefacts. The Sichuan basin is surrounded by the Himalayas to the west, the Qin Mountains to the north, Qin armies finished their conquest of the kingdoms of Shu and Ba by 316 BC. Any written records and civil achievements of earlier kingdoms were destroyed, Qin administrators introduced improved agricultural technology. Li Bing, engineered the Dujiangyan irrigation system to control the Min River and this innovative hydraulic system was composed of movable weirs which could be adjusted for high or low water flow according to the season, to either provide irrigation or prevent floods. The increased agricultural output and taxes made the area a source of provisions, Sichuan was subjected to the autonomous control of kings named by the imperial family of Han Dynasty. Shu-Han claimed to be the successor to the Han Dynasty, in 263, the Jin dynasty of North China, conquered the Kingdom of Shu-Han as its first step on the path to unify China again, under their rule. Salt production becomes a business in Ziliujing District

38.
Xizang
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The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, called Tibet or Xizang for short, is a province-level autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China. Within China, Tibet is identified as an autonomous region, the current borders of Tibet were generally established in the eighteenth century and include about half of ethno-cultural Tibet. In 1950, the Peoples Liberation Army defeated the Tibetan army in a battle fought near the city of Chamdo, in 1951, the Tibetan representatives signed a 17-point agreement with the Chinese Central Peoples Government affirming Chinas sovereignty over Tibet and the incorporation of Tibet. The agreement was ratified in Lhasa a few months later, the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 and renounced the 17-point agreement. Tibet Autonomous Region was established in 1965, thus making Tibet an administrative division that is equivalent in status to a Chinese province. The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the highest region on earth, in northern Tibet elevations reach an average of over 4,572 metres. Mount Everest is located on Tibets border with Nepal, Chinas provincial-level areas of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Sichuan lie to the north, northeast, and east, respectively, of the Tibet AR. There is also a border with Yunnan province to the southeast. The PRC has border disputes with the Republic of India over the McMahon Line of Arunachal Pradesh, the disputed territory of Aksai Chin is to the west, and its boundary with that region is not defined. The other countries to the south are Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal. Physically, the Tibet AR may be divided into two parts, the region in the west and north-west, and the river region. On the south the Tibet AR is bounded by the Himalayas, the system at no point narrows to a single range, generally there are three or four across its breadth. Other lakes include Dagze Co, Namtso, and Pagsum Co, the lake region is a wind-swept Alpine grassland. This region is called the Chang Tang or Northern Plateau by the people of Tibet and it is some 1,100 km broad, and covers an area about equal to that of France. Due to its distance from the ocean it is extremely arid. The mountain ranges are spread out, rounded, disconnected, separated by flat valleys. The Tibet AR is dotted over with large and small lakes, generally salt or alkaline, due to the presence of discontinuous permafrost over the Chang Tang, the soil is boggy and covered with tussocks of grass, thus resembling the Siberian tundra. Salt and fresh-water lakes are intermingled, the lakes are generally without outlet, or have only a small effluent

39.
Bhutan
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Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in Asia and the smallest state located entirely within the Himalaya mountain range. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it is bordered by China in the north, Bhutan lacks a border with nearby Nepal due to the Indian state of Sikkim and with Bangladesh due to the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam. Bhutan is geopolitically in South Asia and is the second least populous nation after the Maldives. Thimphu is its capital and largest city, while Phuntsholing is its financial center, the independence of Bhutan has endured for centuries and the territory was never colonized in its history. Situated on the ancient Silk Road between Tibet, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the Bhutanese state developed a national identity based on Buddhism. Headed by a leader known as the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the territory was composed of many fiefdoms. Following a civil war in the 19th century, the House of Wangchuck reunited the country, Bhutan fostered a strategic partnership with India during the rise of Chinese communism and has a disputed border with the Peoples Republic of China. The King of Bhutan is known as the Dragon King, Bhutan is also notable for pioneering the concept of gross national happiness. The countrys landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan mountains in the north. The highest mountain in Bhutan is the Gangkhar Puensum, which is also a candidate for the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. There is also diverse wildlife in Bhutan, in South Asia, Bhutan ranks first in economic freedom, ease of doing business and peace, second in per capita income and is the least corrupt country, as of 2016. However, Bhutan continues to be a least developed country, hydroelectricity accounts for the major share of its exports. The government is a parliamentary democracy, Bhutan maintains diplomatic relations with 52 countries and the European Union, but does not have formal ties with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It is a member of the United Nations, SAARC, BIMSTEC, the Royal Bhutan Army maintains extensive military relations with the Indian Armed Forces. The precise etymology of Bhutan is unknown, although it is likely to derive from the Tibetan endonym Bod used for Tibet. Traditionally, it is taken to be a transcription of the Sanskrit Bhoṭa-anta end of Tibet, since the 17th century the official name of Bhutan has been Druk yul and Bhutan only appears in English-language official correspondence. Names similar to Bhutan — including Bohtan, Buhtan, Bottanthis, Bottan, jean-Baptiste Taverniers 1676 Six Voyages is the first to record the name Boutan. However, in case, these seem to have been describing not modern Bhutan

40.
Hardiness (plants)
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Hardiness of plants describes their ability to survive adverse growing conditions. It is usually limited to discussions of climatic adversity, thus a plants ability to tolerate cold, heat, drought, flooding, or wind are typically considered measurements of hardiness. Hardiness of plants is defined by their native extents geographic location, longitude, latitude and these attributes are often simplified to a hardiness zone. In temperate latitudes, the term most often describes resistance to cold, or cold-hardiness, Hardiness of a plant is usually divided into two categories, tender, and hardy. Some sources also use the erroneous terms Half-hardy or Fully hardy, tender plants are those killed by freezing temperatures, while hardy plants survive freezing—at least down to certain temperatures, depending on the plant. Half-hardy is a term used sometimes in horticulture to describe bedding plants which are sown in heat in winter or early spring, Fully hardy usually refers to plants being classified under the Royal Horticultural Society classifications, and can often cause confusion to those not using this method. Plants vary a lot in their tolerance of growing conditions, the selective breeding of varieties capable of withstanding particular climates forms an important part of agriculture and horticulture. Plants adapt to changes in climate on their own to some extent, part of the work of nursery growers of plants consists of cold hardening, or hardening off their plants, to prepare them for likely conditions in later life. Winter-hardy plants grow during the winter, or at least remain healthy, apart from hardy evergreens, these include many cultivated plants, including varieties of cabbage and broccoli, and all kinds of carrot. Some bulbs – such as tulips – need cold winters to bloom, many domestic plants are assigned a hardiness zone that specifies the climates in which they can survive. Winter gardens are dependent upon the cultivation of winter-hardy plants, woody plants survive freezing temperatures by suppressing the formation of ice in living cells or by allowing water to freeze in plant parts that are not affected by ice formation. The common mechanism for plants to survive up to –40 °C is supercooling. Woody plants that survive lower temperatures are dehydrating their cells, allowing water to freeze between cell walls and the cells to survive, plants normally considered hardy may not survive freezing if they are not readily acclimated, which renders them unable to use these mechanisms. The most widely used is the USDA system of Hardiness zone based on average yearly temperatures. This system was developed specifically for the diverse range of conditions in the United States. Another commonly used system is the Sunset Climate Zone system and this system is much more specific to climates and less dependent on the yearly minimum. In contrast the United Kingdom and Western Europe have an oceanic climate and this results in areas like western Scotland experiencing conditions conducive to growing subtropical plants, despite the relatively northerly latitude. The Royal Horticultural Society has published a set of hardiness ratings applicable to the UK, the ratings range from H1a to H7

41.
USDA
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Approximately 80% of USDAs $140 billion budget goes to the Food and Nutrition Service program. The largest component of the FNS budget is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, after the resignation of Thomas Vilsack on January 13,2017 and the departure of President Barack Obama from office on January 20,2017, the acting Secretary of Agriculture is Michael Young. Activities in this include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides healthy food to over 40 million low-income. The USDA also is concerned with assisting farmers and food producers with the sale of crops and it plays a role in overseas aid programs by providing surplus foods to developing countries. This aid can go through USAID, foreign governments, international bodies such as World Food Program, the Agricultural Act of 1949, section 416 and Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, also known as Food for Peace, provides the legal basis of such actions. The USDA is a partner of the World Cocoa Foundation, early in its history, the economy of the United States was largely agrarian. Officials in the government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants. In 1837 Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, a Yale-educated attorney interested in improving agriculture, became Commissioner of Patents and he began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the Congress and agricultural societies. In 1839, Congress established the Agricultural Division within the Patent Office and allotted $1,000 for the collection of agricultural statistics, Ellsworth was called the Father of the Department of Agriculture. In 1849, the Patent Office was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior, in the ensuing years, agitation for a separate bureau of agriculture within the department or a separate department devoted to agriculture kept recurring. Lincoln called it the peoples department, in the 1880s, varied advocacy groups were lobbying for Cabinet representation. Business interests sought a Department of Commerce and Industry, and farmers tried to raise the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet rank, finally, on February 9,1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level. In 1887, the Hatch Act provided for the funding of agricultural experiment stations in each state. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 then funded cooperative extension services in each state to teach agriculture, home economics, with these and similar provisions, the USDA reached out to every county of every state. During the Great Depression, farming remained a way of life for millions of Americans. The Department of Agricultures Bureau of Home Economics, established in 1923, published shopping advice and recipes to stretch family budgets and make food go farther. USDA helped ensure that continued to be produced and distributed to those who needed it, assisted with loans for small landowners. The Department of Agriculture was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of $139.7 billion, the Washington Post reports that he said There are days when I have literally nothing to do, he recalled thinking as he weighed his decision to quit

42.
PH level
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In chemistry, pH is a numeric scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. It is approximately the negative of the base 10 logarithm of the concentration, measured in units of moles per liter. More precisely it is the negative of the logarithm to base 10 of the activity of the hydrogen ion, solutions with a pH less than 7 are acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic. Pure water is neutral, at pH7, being neither an acid nor a base, contrary to popular belief, the pH value can be less than 0 or greater than 14 for very strong acids and bases respectively. The pH scale is traceable to a set of standard solutions whose pH is established by international agreement, the pH of aqueous solutions can be measured with a glass electrode and a pH meter, or an indicator. In the first papers, the notation had the H as a subscript to the p, as so. The exact meaning of the p in pH is disputed, but according to the Carlsberg Foundation and it has also been suggested that the p stands for the German Potenz, others refer to French puissance. Another suggestion is that the p stands for the Latin terms pondus hydrogenii, potentia hydrogenii and it is also suggested that Sørensen used the letters p and q simply to label the test solution and the reference solution. Currently in chemistry, the p stands for decimal cologarithm of, PH is defined as the decimal logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion activity, aH+, in a solution. P H = − log 10 ⁡ = log 10 ⁡ For example and this definition was adopted because ion-selective electrodes, which are used to measure pH, respond to activity. For H+ number of electrons transferred is one and it follows that electrode potential is proportional to pH when pH is defined in terms of activity. The reference electrode may be a silver chloride electrode or a calomel electrode, the hydrogen-ion selective electrode is a standard hydrogen electrode. Reference electrode | concentrated solution of KCl || test solution | H2 | Pt Firstly, the cell is filled with a solution of hydrogen ion activity. Then the emf, EX, of the cell containing the solution of unknown pH is measured. PH = pH + E S − E X z The difference between the two measured emf values is proportional to pH and this method of calibration avoids the need to know the standard electrode potential. The proportionality constant, 1/z is ideally equal to 12.303 R T / F the Nernstian slope, to apply this process in practice, a glass electrode is used rather than the cumbersome hydrogen electrode. A combined glass electrode has a reference electrode. It is calibrated against buffer solutions of hydrogen ion activity

43.
Bog garden
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A bog garden employs permanently moist soil to create a habitat for plants and creatures which thrive in such conditions. It may exploit existing poor drainage in the garden, or it may be created using pond liners or other materials to trap water in the area. Any such structure must allow an amount of seepage to prevent the water stagnating. For instance, a pond liner must be pierced a few times, typically a bog garden consists of a shallow area adjoining a pond or other water feature, but care must be taken to prevent water draining from a higher to a lower level. The minimum sustainable depth is 40–45 cm, good drainage is provided by gravel placed over the liner, and the bog can be kept watered by using a perforated hose below the surface

44.
Iris sibirica
–
Iris sibirica, commonly known as Siberian iris or Siberian flag, is a species in the genus Iris. It is a herbaceous perennial, from Europe and Central Asia. It has long green leaves, tall stem, 2–5 violet-blue, to blue. It is cultivated as a plant in temperate regions. Iris sibirica was often confused with Iris sanguinea, another blue flowering Asian iris, but sanguinea has unbranched stems, while sibirica has branched stems. It has creeping rhizome, forming a dense clumping plant, the rhizomes are covered with the brown remnants of old leaves, from previous seasons. It has green leaves, which are ribbed and can sometimes have a pink tinge at the base of the leaf. They can grow to between 25–80 cm long and 0. 4–0.6 cm wide, normally shorter than the flowering stems, in Autumn, the foliage turns yellow and then dies back, to re-emerge in the spring. It has a hollow, slender, 1–3 branched stem, that grows up to between 50–120 cm long, the stems bear 2-5 flowers, at the terminal ends between late spring and early summer, between May and June. It has 3 brown paper-like spathes, that are reddish at the base, the flowers come in a range of blue shades. From violet-blue, to blue, and occasionally white, the flowers are 6–7 cm in diameter. It has 2 pairs of petals,3 large sepals, known as the falls and 3 inner, smaller petals, known as the standards. The drooping obovate falls, measuring 5-7.5 cm long, the white forms of the iris have a tinge of lavender and dark veining. The smaller narrow upright standards are between 4. 5–5.5 cm long and 1. 5–1.8 cm wide. It has a light to dark blue-violet, circular perianth tube, about 1 cm long, pale blue style, a pedicel between 1–15 cm long and a 1. 5–2 cm roundly triangular, ovary. After the iris has flowered, it produces a short stubby seed capsule, inside the capsule, are 2 rows of seeds, which are thin, flat, shaped like a capital D and dark brown seeds, measuring about 5 mm by 3 mm. It has been studied various times, as most irises are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes. This can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings and it has been count various times, 2n=28, Sim

45.
Postage stamp
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Postage stamp may also refer to a formatting artifact in the display of film or video, Windowbox. A postage stamp is a piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are printed on special paper, show a national designation and a denomination on the front. They are sometimes a source of net profit to the issuing agency, stamps are usually rectangular, but triangles or other shapes are occasionally used. The stamp is affixed to an envelope or other postal cover the customer wishes to send, the item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark, sometimes known as a cancellation mark, is usually applied in overlapping manner to stamp and cover. This procedure marks the stamp as used to prevent its reuse, in modern usage, postmarks generally indicate the date and point of origin of the mailing. The mailed item is delivered to the address the customer has applied to the envelope or parcel. Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s, before then, ink and hand-stamps, usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage. The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly referred to as the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840, there are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp. The postage stamp resolved this issue in a simple and elegant manner, concurrently with the first stamps, the UK offered wrappers for mail. S. Postal service for priority or express mailing, the postage stamp afforded convenience for both the mailer and postal officials, more effectively recovered costs for the postal service, and ultimately resulted in a better, faster postal system. With the conveniences stamps offered, their use resulted in greatly increased mailings during the 19th and 20th centuries, as postage stamps with their engraved imagery began to appear on a widespread basis, historians and collectors began to take notice. The study of stamps and their use is referred to as philately. Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of study and reference, as government-issued postage stamps. The postage for the item was prepaid by the use of a hand-stamp to frank the mailed item. Though this stamp was applied to a letter instead of a piece of paper it is considered by many historians as the worlds first postage stamp. Rowland Hill The Englishman Sir Rowland Hill began interest in postal reform in 1835, in 1836, a Member of Parliament, Robert Wallace, provided Hill with numerous books and documents, which Hill described as a half hundred weight of material. Hill commenced a study of these documents, leading him to the 1837 publication of a pamphlet entitled Post Office Reform its Importance

46.
Cambodia
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Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, the countrys minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, the kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, after the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north, the Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the king gave his support to his former enemies. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission, the UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian Peoples Party, important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall, Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, the Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea, Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the countrys official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa, composed of देश, desa and कम्बोज, Kambujas, colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer, meaning Khmers Land, or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea, literally Country of Kampuchea. The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more used in the East. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of dates as of 6000 BC

47.
Google Books
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Books are provided either by publishers and authors, through the Google Books Partner Program, or by Googles library partners, through the Library Project. Additionally, Google has partnered with a number of publishers to digitize their archives. The Publisher Program was first known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2004, the Google Books Library Project, which scans works in the collections of library partners and adds them to the digital inventory, was announced in December 2004. But it has also criticized for potential copyright violations. As of October 2015, the number of scanned book titles was over 25 million, Google estimated in 2010 that there were about 130 million distinct titles in the world, and stated that it intended to scan all of them. Results from Google Books show up in both the universal Google Search as well as in the dedicated Google Books search website, if Google believes the book is still under copyright, a user sees snippets of text around the queried search terms. All instances of the terms in the book text appear with a yellow highlight. The four access levels used on Google Books are, Full view, Books in the domain are available for full view. In-print books acquired through the Partner Program are also available for full view if the publisher has given permission, usually, the publisher can set the percentage of the book available for preview. Users are restricted from copying, downloading or printing book previews, a watermark reading Copyrighted material appears at the bottom of pages. All books acquired through the Partner Program are available for preview and this could be because Google cannot identify the owner or the owner declined permission. If a search term appears many times in a book, Google displays no more than three snippets, thus preventing the user from viewing too much of the book. Also, Google does not display any snippets for certain reference books, such as dictionaries, Google maintains that no permission is required under copyright law to display the snippet view. No preview, Google also displays search results for books that have not been digitized, in effect, this is similar to an online library card catalog. Google also stated that it would not scan any in-copyright books between August and 1 November 2005, to provide the owners with the opportunity to decide which books to exclude from the Project. It can let Google scan the book under the Library Project and it can opt out of the Library Project, in which case Google will not scan the book. If the book has already been scanned, Google will reset its access level as No preview and this information is collated through automated methods, and sometimes data from third-party sources is used. This information provides an insight into the book, particularly useful when only a view is available

48.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker

49.
PubMed Identifier
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PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez system of information retrieval, from 1971 to 1997, MEDLINE online access to the MEDLARS Online computerized database primarily had been through institutional facilities, such as university libraries. PubMed, first released in January 1996, ushered in the era of private, free, home-, the PubMed system was offered free to the public in June 1997, when MEDLINE searches via the Web were demonstrated, in a ceremony, by Vice President Al Gore. Information about the journals indexed in MEDLINE, and available through PubMed, is found in the NLM Catalog. As of 5 January 2017, PubMed has more than 26.8 million records going back to 1966, selectively to the year 1865, and very selectively to 1809, about 500,000 new records are added each year. As of the date,13.1 million of PubMeds records are listed with their abstracts. In 2016, NLM changed the system so that publishers will be able to directly correct typos. Simple searches on PubMed can be carried out by entering key aspects of a subject into PubMeds search window, when a journal article is indexed, numerous article parameters are extracted and stored as structured information. Such parameters are, Article Type, Secondary identifiers, Language, publication type parameter enables many special features. As these clinical girish can generate small sets of robust studies with considerable precision, since July 2005, the MEDLINE article indexing process extracts important identifiers from the article abstract and puts those in a field called Secondary Identifier. The secondary identifier field is to store numbers to various databases of molecular sequence data, gene expression or chemical compounds. For clinical trials, PubMed extracts trial IDs for the two largest trial registries, ClinicalTrials. gov and the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Register, a reference which is judged particularly relevant can be marked and related articles can be identified. If relevant, several studies can be selected and related articles to all of them can be generated using the Find related data option, the related articles are then listed in order of relatedness. To create these lists of related articles, PubMed compares words from the title and abstract of each citation, as well as the MeSH headings assigned, using a powerful word-weighted algorithm. The related articles function has been judged to be so precise that some researchers suggest it can be used instead of a full search, a strong feature of PubMed is its ability to automatically link to MeSH terms and subheadings. Examples would be, bad breath links to halitosis, heart attack to myocardial infarction, where appropriate, these MeSH terms are automatically expanded, that is, include more specific terms. Terms like nursing are automatically linked to Nursing or Nursing and this important feature makes PubMed searches automatically more sensitive and avoids false-negative hits by compensating for the diversity of medical terminology. The My NCBI area can be accessed from any computer with web-access, an earlier version of My NCBI was called PubMed Cubby

Taxonomy (biology)
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Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxon

1.
Title page of Systema Naturae, Leiden, 1735

2.
Evolution of the vertebrates at class level, width of spindles indicating number of families. Spindle diagrams are typical for Evolutionary taxonomy

3.
The same relationship, expressed as a cladogram typical for cladistics

4.
Type specimen for Nepenthes smilesii, a tropical pitcher plant.

Plant
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Plants are mainly multicellular, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. The term is generally limited to the green plants, which form an unranked clade Viridiplantae. This includes the plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae. Green plants have cell walls c

1.
Green algae from Ernst Haeckel 's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904.

2.
Had'n

3.
Dicksonia antarctica, a species of tree fern

4.
A petrified log in Petrified Forest National Park.

Angiosperms
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The flowering plants, also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants, with 416 families, approx. 13,164 known genera and a total of c.295,383 known species, etymologically, angiosperm means a plant that produces seeds within an enclosure, in other words, a fruiting plant. The term angiosperm comes from the Gr

2.
Bud of a pink rose

3.
Flowers of Malus sylvestris (crab apple)

4.
Flowers and leaves of Oxalis pes-caprae (Bermuda buttercup)

Monocots
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Monocotyledons, commonly referred to as monocots, are flowering plants whose seeds typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. However, molecular research has shown that while the monocots form a monophyletic group or clade. Monocots have almost always recognized as a group, but with various taxonomic ranks. The APG III system of 2009

2.
Comparison of a monocot and dicot sprouting. Note that the visible part of the monocot plant (left) is actually the first true leaf produced from the meristem; the cotyledon itself remains within the seed.

Asparagales
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Asparagales is an order of plants in modern classification systems such as the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Web. The order takes its name from the type family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots amongst the lilioid monocots, the order has only recently been recognized in classification systems. It was first put for

2.
Seeds of Hippeastrum with dark phytomelan-containing coat

3.
Tree-like habit created by secondary thickening in Nolina recurvata

Iridaceae
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Iridaceae is a family of plants in Order Asparagales, taking its name from the Irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c.2244 species worldwide and it includes a number of other well known cultivated plants, such as the Freesia, the Gladiolus and the Crocus. Members of this family are per

Iridoideae
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Iridoideae subfamily is one of the two main subfamilies in the popular Iridaceae family. It contains the best-known genus - Iris, the members of this subfamily are widely distributed worldwide. They grow in all continents except Antarctica and they produce typical sword-shaped leaves and have mainly corms or rhizomes. There are some exceptions whic

1.
Iridoideae

2.
Iris milesii

Irideae
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Irideae is a tribe included in the well-known Iridaceae family. It contains many species in five genera which are distributed in the Old World. The tribe derives its name from Iris, which is the genus of the tribe. The blooms, which are often with scent and collected in an inflorescence, have six petals and those are identical only in the genus Fer

1.
Irideae

2.
Iris milesii

Iris (plant)
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Iris is a genus of about 260–300, species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, some authors state that the name refers to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species. A common nam

1.
Iris

2.
Rhizomes of ornamental irises

3.
Illustration of an iris flower with highlighted parts of the flower

4.
Iris reichenbachii fruit

Iris subg. Limniris
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Subgenus Limniris is one subgenus of beardless irises, which dont have hair on their drooping sepals, also called their falls. Limniris is derived from the Latin for marsh or living-in-lakes Iris and this refers to the fact that most species can be grown in moist habitats for part of the year. It was originally described by Tausch in Deut, Édouard

1.
Beardless Iris

Iris series Sibiricae
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Sibiricae are a series of the genus Iris, in Iris subg. The series was first classified by Diels in Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien in 1930 and it was further expanded by Lawrence in Gentes Herb in 1953. Iris sibirica and Iris sanguinea were first recorded and described in the 18th century and they were used in herbal remedies, to cure ulcers, rem

1.
Iris series Sibiricae

Binomial nomenclature
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Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name, more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs, for example, humans belong to the genus Homo and within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. The formal introduction of system of nami

1.
Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), a Swedish botanist, invented the modern system of binomial nomenclature.

Synonym (taxonomy)
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For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies. This name is no longer in use, it is now a synonym of the current scientific name which is Picea abies, unlike synonyms in other contexts, in taxonomy a synonym is not interchangeable with the name of which it is a synonym. In taxonomy,

1.
The Latin Caudata and Greek Urodela both mean "tailed" and have been used as a scientific name at the rank of order for the salamanders (as opposed to the tail-less frogs). Thus they are synonyms.

2.
The common dandelion Taraxacum officinale sensu lato is an extremely widespread group of apomictic lineages, and some scientists apply the "biological species concept" to divide it into many distinct species; other scientists regard all the names for those independent species as synonyms.

Rhizomatous
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In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a modified subterranean stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks and rootstocks, Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and are diageotropic or grow perpendicular to the force of gravity. The rhizome also ret

Herbaceous plant
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Herbaceous plants are plants that have no persistent woody stem above ground. Herbaceous plants may be annuals, biennials or perennials, annual herbaceous plants die completely at the end of the growing season or when they have flowered and fruited, and they then grow again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plants may have stems that die

1.
Trientalis latifolia (Broadleaf Starflower) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the ground layer of forests in western North America.

Perennial plant
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A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs. Tomato vines, for example, live several years in their natural habitat but are gr

1.
Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a herbaceous perennial plant

2.
Dahlia plants are perennial.

3.
Switchgrass is a deep-rooted perennial. These roots are more than 3 meters long.

Temperateness
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In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of Earth lie between the tropics and the polar regions. The temperatures in these regions are relatively moderate, rather than extremely hot or cold. The north temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle, the south temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarct

1.
The different geographical zones

Spathe
–
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves and they may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture. Typically, they look different from the parts of the flower. Th

1.
Papery (upper) and leafy bracts on hay rattle (Rhinanthus minor). All the "leaves" in this image are bracts.

2.
Bracts of Bougainvillea glabra, differ in colour from the non-bract leaves, and attract pollinators

Sepals
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A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms. Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, the term sepalum was coined by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker in 1790, and derived from the Greek σκεπη, a covering. Collectively the sepals are called the calyx, the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower, the word calyx

2.
Diagram showing the parts of a mature flower. In this example the perianth is separated into a calyx (sepals) and corolla (petals)

3.
After blooming, the sepals of Hibiscus sabdariffa expand into an edible accessory fruit

4.
In many Fabaceae flowers, a calyx tube surrounds the petals.

Tepals
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A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower when these parts cannot easily be divided into two kinds, sepals and petals. The term was first proposed by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1827, undifferentiated tepals are believed to be the ancestral condition in flowering plants. For example, Amborella, which is thought to have separated earliest in

1.
A Lilium flower showing the six tepals: the inner three are petals and the outer three are sepals.

2.
Diagram showing the parts of a mature flower. In this example the perianth is separated into a calyx (sepals) and corolla (petals)

3.
Flowers of Magnolia × alba showing tepals in various stages of development

4.
A tulip flower showing the petal-like tepals

Diploid
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Ploidy is the number of sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Cells are described according to the number of present, monoploid, diploid, triploid, tetraploid, pentaploid, hexaploid, heptaploid or septaploid. The generic term polyploid is used to describe cells with three or

1.
Diploid cells have two homologous copies of each chromosome.

Chromosomes
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A chromosome is a DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. Prokaryotes usually have one single circular chromosome, whereas most eukaryotes are diploid, chromosomes in eukaryotes are composed of chromatin fiber. Chromatin fiber is made of nucleosomes, a nucleosome is a histone octamer with part of a longer DNA strand at

2.
Diagram of a replicated and condensed metaphase eukaryotic chromosome. (1) Chromatid – one of the two identical parts of the chromosome after S phase. (2) Centromere – the point where the two chromatids touch. (3) Short arm. (4) Long arm.

4.
Human chromosomes during metaphase

Chinese characters
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Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and some other Asian languages. In Standard Chinese, and sometimes also in English, they are called hànzì. They have been adapted to write a number of languages including, Japanese, where they are known as kanji, Korean, where they are known as hanja. Collectively, they are known as CJ

1.
Chinese characters

2.
"Chinese character" in traditional (left) and simplified form (right)

3.
Ox scapula with oracle bone inscription

Botanical name
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The purpose of a formal name is to have a single name that is accepted and used worldwide for a particular plant or plant group. Later, the plant was introduced worldwide, bringing it contact with more languages. English names for plant species include, daisy, English daisy. The cultivar Bellis perennis Aucubifolia is a golden-variegated horticultu

1.
Bellis perennis has one botanical name and many common names, including perennial daisy, lawn daisy, common daisy, and English daisy.

Yunnan
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Yunnan is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country. It spans approximately 394,000 square kilometres and has a population of 45.7 million in 2009, the capital of the province is Kunming, formerly also known as Yunnan. The province borders Vietnam, Laos, and Burma, Yunnan is situated in a mountainous a

1.
Bronze sculpture of the Dian Kingdom, 3rd century BCE

2.
Map showing the location of Yunnan Province

3.
A scene of the Qing campaign against the Miao people in 1795.

4.
Snowy mountains in Diqing, northwestern Yunnan.

Jardin des Plantes
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The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national dhistoire naturelle and it is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares. The grounds of the Jardin des Plantes includes four galleries of the Muséum, the Grande Galerie de

1.
The exterior of the Grande Galerie de l'évolution architect Louis-Jules André.

2.
Plan of the Jardin des Plantes from 1820

3.
The Mexican Hothouse built (1834–36) by Charles Rohault de Fleury, an early example of French glass and metal architecture

4.
Map of the Jardin des Plantes

Joseph Dalton Hooker
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Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM GCSI CB PRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. He was a founder of botany and Charles Darwins closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, succeeding his father, William Jackson Hooker, Hooker was born in Halesworth, Suffolk, England

1.
Hooker in the 1860s

2.
Painting of Hooker by William Kilburn, circa 1852

3.
Tibet and Cholamo Lake from the summit of the Donkia Pass, looking North West from Hooker's Himalayan Journals. Hooker reached the pass on 7 November 1849.

4.
Engraving of Hooker by Charles Henry Jeens (1827–1879)

Curtis's Botanical Magazine
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The Botanical Magazine, or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is referred to by the subsequent name Curtiss Botanical Magazine. Each of the issues contains a description, in yet accessible language. Many plants received their first publication on the pages, and the

1.
The Botanical Magazine, 1845 title page

2.
Dianthus barbatus Plate 207 (1793)

Kew Gardens
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Kew Gardens is a botanical garden in southwest London that houses the largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the collection contains more than 175,000 prints. It is one of Londons top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Site, Kew Gardens has its own po

Iris laevigata
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Iris laevigata, known as Japanese iris, rabbit-ear iris or kakitsubata, is a Japanese species of iris related to other members of Iris subgenus Limniris, including other species of Japanese irises. It is found growing in waters and seems to prefer marshy. Alternative names for I. laeviegata are I. albopurpurea and I. phragmitetorum, when grown from

1.
Rabbit-Ear Iris

United States Department of Agriculture
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Approximately 80% of USDAs $140 billion budget goes to the Food and Nutrition Service program. The largest component of the FNS budget is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, after the resignation of Thomas Vilsack on January 13,2017 and the departure of President Barack Obama from office on January 20,2017, the acting Secretary of Agricu

1.
The Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington D.C., the USDA headquarters.

2.
Seal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

3.
Harvey Washington Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture's Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff, not long after he joined the division in 1883

4.
The Beagle Brigade are part of the USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. This piece of luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport may contain contraband.

Agricultural Research Service
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The Agricultural Research Service is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. ARS is one of four agencies in USDAs Research, Education, ARS research focuses on solving problems affecting Americans every day. ARS has more than 2,200 permanent scientists working on approximately 1,100 research projects at

1.
Logo of the Agricultural Research Service

Royal Horticultural Society
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The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England, as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UKs leading gardening charity and claims to be the world’s largest gardening charity, the RHS quotes its charitable purpose as The enco

1.
London flower show in Lawrence Hall

2.
RHS logo

Award of Garden Merit
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The Award of Garden Merit is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society. It is based on assessment of the performance under UK growing conditions. The Award of Garden Merit is a mark of quality awarded, since 1922, awards are made annually after plant trials intended to judge the plants performance under U

1.
Trials field at Wisley showing some of the hundreds of varieties assessed for the Award of Garden Merit

2.
Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

Chinese provinces
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Provinces, formally provincial-level administrative divisions or first-level administrative divisions, are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 34 such divisions, classified as 23 provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions, the Peoples Republic of China claims sovereignty over the territory administered by the

1.
Map comparing administrative divisions as drawn by the PRC and ROC.

2.
Provincial division 省份 Shěngfèn

Guizhou
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Guizhou, formerly romanized as Kweichow, is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. The area was first organized as a region of a Chinese empire under the Tang. During the Mongolian Yuan dynasty, the character 矩 was changed to the more refined 貴, the region formally became a province in 1413, wit

Sichuan
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In antiquity, Sichuan was the home of the ancient states of Ba and Shu. Their conquest by Qin strengthened it and paved the way for the First Emperors unification of China under the Qin Dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Beis Shu was based in Sichuan. The area was devastated in the 17th century by Zhang Xianzhongs rebellion and the areas s

1.
A stone-carved gate pillar, or que, 6 metres (20 ft) in total height, located at the tomb of Gao Yi in Ya'an, Sichuan, built during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE)

2.
Map showing the location of Sichuan Province

3.
Warlords in China around 194; Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province meant he seized the positions of Liu Biao and Liu Zhang eventually

4.
The Leshan Giant Buddha, built during the latter half of the Tang dynasty (618−907).

Xizang
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The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, called Tibet or Xizang for short, is a province-level autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China. Within China, Tibet is identified as an autonomous region, the current borders of Tibet were generally established in the eighteenth century and include about half of ethno-cultural Tibet

Bhutan
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Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in Asia and the smallest state located entirely within the Himalaya mountain range. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it is bordered by China in the north, Bhutan lacks a border with nearby Nepal due to the Indian state of Sikkim and with Bangladesh due to the Indian states of West B

3.
The Dzong in the Paro valley, built in 1646.

Hardiness (plants)
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Hardiness of plants describes their ability to survive adverse growing conditions. It is usually limited to discussions of climatic adversity, thus a plants ability to tolerate cold, heat, drought, flooding, or wind are typically considered measurements of hardiness. Hardiness of plants is defined by their native extents geographic location, longit

USDA
–
Approximately 80% of USDAs $140 billion budget goes to the Food and Nutrition Service program. The largest component of the FNS budget is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, after the resignation of Thomas Vilsack on January 13,2017 and the departure of President Barack Obama from office on January 20,2017, the acting Secretary of Agricu

1.
The Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington D.C., the USDA headquarters.

2.
Seal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

3.
Harvey Washington Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture's Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff, not long after he joined the division in 1883

4.
The Beagle Brigade are part of the USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. This piece of luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport may contain contraband.

PH level
–
In chemistry, pH is a numeric scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. It is approximately the negative of the base 10 logarithm of the concentration, measured in units of moles per liter. More precisely it is the negative of the logarithm to base 10 of the activity of the hydrogen ion, solutions with a pH less than 7 a

1.
Lemon juice tastes sour because it contains 5% to 6% citric acid, which has a pH of 2.2.

2.
Chart showing the variation of color of universal indicator paper with pH

3.
pH values of some common substances

Bog garden
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A bog garden employs permanently moist soil to create a habitat for plants and creatures which thrive in such conditions. It may exploit existing poor drainage in the garden, or it may be created using pond liners or other materials to trap water in the area. Any such structure must allow an amount of seepage to prevent the water stagnating. For in

1.
Wakehurst Place Bog garden

Iris sibirica
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Iris sibirica, commonly known as Siberian iris or Siberian flag, is a species in the genus Iris. It is a herbaceous perennial, from Europe and Central Asia. It has long green leaves, tall stem, 2–5 violet-blue, to blue. It is cultivated as a plant in temperate regions. Iris sibirica was often confused with Iris sanguinea, another blue flowering Asi

1.
Iris sibirica

2.
Iris sibirica growing in the grasslands of Germany

3.
close-up of flower with water droplets

4.
seeds of Iris from the Muséum de Toulouse

Postage stamp
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Postage stamp may also refer to a formatting artifact in the display of film or video, Windowbox. A postage stamp is a piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are printed on special paper, show a national designation and a denomination on the front. They are sometimes a

1.
The main components of a stamp: 1. Image 2. Perforations 3. Denomination 4. Country name

2.
Rowland Hill

3.
The Penny Black, the world’s first postage stamp.

4.
Rows of perforations in a sheet of postage stamps.

Cambodia
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Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada

1.
Glazed stoneware dating back to the 12th century.

2.
Flag

3.
Khmer army going to war against the Cham, from a relief on the Bayon.

4.
Angkor Wat

Google Books
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Books are provided either by publishers and authors, through the Google Books Partner Program, or by Googles library partners, through the Library Project. Additionally, Google has partnered with a number of publishers to digitize their archives. The Publisher Program was first known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair

1.
Formats

2.
Google Books screenshot

International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning

1.
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an EAN-13 bar code

PubMed Identifier
–
PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez system of information retrieval, from 1971 to 1997, MEDLINE online access to the